INTERFACE

REVIEW

New Work Scotland Programme 2009/10

The Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, 5 December - 31 January

Reviewed by: Rosie Lesso »

In its twenty-six years the Collective Gallery has always aimed to pacify those dreaded first few years out of art college, providing a platform for exhibiting and a peer group. Ten years ago then director Sarah Munro devised The New Work Scotland (NWS) programme, an annual event to fund local graduates, helping them create their first solo exhibition. Those ten years have seen such a range of artists come and go that it is hardly surprising that some have continued to grow and develop, whilst others have dropped off the radar. But it is this ability to take risks that makes the programme so well-rooted, with 200 artists this year fighting for the top four spots.

Michael White and Anna Tanner were the first two of the four selected artists to exhibit their work in late 2009, whilst this year Rachel Adams and Katharina Kiebacher are currently using the two larger gallery spaces. The two latter artists have been influenced by minimalism whilst demonstrating a healthy distain for its apparent purity, so it is easy to see why they have been placed together, in spite of vastly contrasting motifs.

Adams is one of a number of young artists creating playful pastiches based on neo-romantic imagery from the 70s and 80s. Her work is essentially sculptural, using throwaway materials such as shredded paper and MDF to create amorphous objects that hover between function and decoration. They sit like lamps or footstools, or hang like George Nelson's 1970s Eye Clocks, clustered to create a living room feel.

In one corner a silent TV runs a repetitive loop of a black bobbing 'o', which turns out to be David Bowie's singing lips extracted from the video to Life on Mars? This, and the title of the whole display, Golden Years, reveals Adams' fascination with Bowie and his 1970s retro glamour, which has clearly coloured the style of all her work. Adams' throwaway objects do subvert the minimalist, bourgeois ideal, but in focusing so heavily on a stylised craft she could be accused of lacking depth.

In the next room, Kiebacher exhibits a series of seven projected videos, only two of which were made with funding from NWS. Why such a large group of work has been included remains unclear, particularly given the total running time is around forty minutes. Some earlier videos, like Yellow Stripes (2008) and Pyramids (2009) reveal more directly her fascination with simplicity. Both are filmed in industrial wastelands and see mundane activities being carried out, with compositions carefully and formally arranged to change subtly throughout their duration (it is no surprise that she trained first as a photographer).

The two videos made with New Work Scotland funding, Storm (2009) and Mass-cal (2009) both see more dramatic, staged events taking place, the first filmed in a Danish centre training for mass evacuation from ferries or ships, the second in a German military camp. As with her earlier work, they focus on ritualistic and repetitive behaviour. But in contrast, here they are underpinned by fear, disaster and ultimately loss of control, with participants acting pathetically through mock hazardous scenarios.

The accompanying New Writing Scotland Project also continues to develop, this year giving two selected writers the chance to write about the chosen artists' work for an accompanying publication.

New to this year's programme has also been the opportunity for curators or collectives to produce a project in the smaller guest room within the gallery. This year Glasgow-based artist-led initiative PLACE Projects were selected, and for their display they invited the artists Katherine Gallacher and Ric Warren to create the installation Futureproof.

It is a commendable effort to foster collaboration between organisations, but the idea of a collective selecting another collective to curate a collaborative project makes for confusing viewing. The supporting material on the installation was also limited in comparison with that elsewhere, creating some further mystification. The NWS programme as a whole is continuing to grow, develop and change, and in spite of certain inconsistencies this display proves it is continuing to do what is most important; keeping its platform for creative discussion and collaboration alive and kicking.

Writer detail:

Rosie writes about contemporary art for a number of UK based journals.

rhlesso@hotmail.com

Venue detail:
Collective Gallery »
22-28 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1NY

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