Travelling Gallery, touring until 6 June 2008

Re/trato installation

Touring in Ross & Cromarty in March and then returning to the Highlands, Argyll & Bute and Moray in May, the  Travelling Gallery’s latest exhibition explores the art of portraiture and the human figure through a diverse range of works and media. Suitable for all ages, it is gratifying to see a challenging showcase of international work, providing access to contemporary art and an expansive art education programme. In areas with no regular programmes of art education or established venues in which to see a range of work this is a much needed service.

Ingeniously presented in a converted bus the Travelling Gallery is a refreshing space and a significant resource in outlying areas. Whilst it tours primarily to schools linking with the curriculum and providing art education opportunities, recent visits to Kinlochewe, Lochcarron, Shieldaig, Applecross and Strathpeffer have been open to the public.

It is gratifying to see strong and challenging work in painting, photography, sculpture and video being presented outside the confines of gallery spaces which for many can be intimidating, alienating or entirely absent in the cultural landscape in which many people live.

The selection of work by Shaun Gladwell, Greg Grant, Kenny Hunter, Hideko Inoue, Oscar Muñoz, Ursula Sokolowska, Nafeesa Umar and Frances Upritchard made me ponder at length the whole question of access to images and visual literacy. I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which visual, tactile and conceptual elements combined, each piece was thought provoking and complex in its own way, delivered without the usual package of obstructive jargon.

Whilst plenty of information about artists, their work, influences, links to art history and contemporary practice are available through the art bus and its friendly staff, the work stands on its own and exploring it was time well spent.

Columbian artist Oscar Muñoz’s “Re/trato” (Portrait in Spanish) is a compelling 28 min film in which we see the artist’s hand in speeded-up time draw a self portrait onto stone using water-like ink. In the warm climate the image evaporates almost as fast as the marks are made. The act of trying to record the self and human mortality are personal and universal themes, but here they can also be seen in political in terms; a video monument to the thousands of people who have disappeared in Muñoz’s native Columbia. As each unique line fades the human hand repeats the action in an act infused with vitality, futility and poignancy. The transience of the water is a powerful comment on the human condition.

Kenny Hunter has contributed a fascinating sculpture to the exhibition; ‘Blonde Boy’, in resin, paint and plywood. Like an oversized plastic prototype collected from a cereal packet, this ambiguous figure combines the innocent state of childhood with the stance of a monumental piece of sculpture. As an adult viewer this might be read as the dominance of the child, an interesting comment on rights and responsibilities in our society.

Hunter’s work raises many more questions than it answers; the greyed and immortal figure of childhood may also be a commemorative monument, elevated on a plinth and constructed from common materials. In terms of portraiture it denies any unique human qualities presenting a clone-like identity, like a mass produced toy.

In total contrast Ursula Sokowska’s work projects her own face as a child onto mannequins in order to give a voice to the child figure as self portrait. Although her work is deeply personal, examining “the trauma and uncertainty carried from (her own) childhood” as a Polish immigrant, these photographic images are also a reflection of separation of the body from consciousness and objectification.

The two Untitled images on display, ‘106’ and ’39’ are equally uneasy and disturbing. However, there is a feeling of creative reconstruction in the artist’s examination of her past which is ultimately empowering. Both photographic images are extremely complex in terms of the manner in which the figure is treated. They act on personal memory, fear and the familiar in a way that is uncomfortable and powerful. Like many of the artists in this show Sokolowska’s work begs further investigation.

Recent graduate of Glasgow College of Art Nafeesa Umar has created a mesmerising video sequence, ‘Pure Contemplation’, connecting the “meticulous process of making as a meditative act” with “the spiritual realm of the divine”.

The image of the artist takes on the appearance of a living sculpture or deity with honey being poured over her head, dripping like golden tears and shimmering with light. The use of honey and its associations with healing through the teachings of the Quran suggests an aspirational quality in the work, what the artist describes as the “constant struggle to obtain perfection knowing that it can never be reached but always strived for”.

A statement of self but also of faith, the image is beautiful in its simplicity and devotional aspect. Here art is not in the service of the ego, an all too familiar narcissistic artist’s self portrait, but a creative act invested with reverence and prayer.

Australian Artist Shaun Gladwell’s ‘Storm Sequence’, shown at the Venice Biennale in 2007, is an interesting and poetic piece of choreography. Filmed on a wintry day at Bondi Beach on a skateboard, the piece cleverly removes the urban context and rapid progression of movement through image we normally associate with popular youth culture. Everything is slowed down to exhibit an unexpected grace, elegance and deliberation rather than “fast and furious jump-cuts of MTV montage”.

The lone figure placed against the shifting sea and sky recalls the Romanticism of Friedrich, situating the portrait or identity within the landscape, but it is also intended to be an “open performance” in which multiple readings are possible. So often the bombardment of images we face in daily life are mistaken for visual literacy. Gladwell’s method of composition and slow motion seems to challenge this assumption. His work does not passively reflect popular culture, it provides an alternative and deconstructive critical view.

Greg Grant’s lightbox and mirror installation ‘Demographic: US Ultra Conservative Christian Males, 45-55 Austin Texas earning $50,000+’ is an intriguing piece which grapples with the unregulated flow of data, information and lies that are part of the www. A series of hundreds of personals shots juxtaposed with personals advertising texts in mirrored glass utilises the raw material of human identity. The need for connection, the implications of “social networking media” and the influence of new technology are primary lines of enquiry in this work.

The artist questions the “underlying politics” of the “media age” and the truth of representation. This sets up a fascinating dialogue between the artist, new technology, the art of portraiture and the “found” web based material that he uses to create the work. His work reads like an ironic portrait of human progress.

Within a relatively small space there is work of real substance and enquiry here that I’m sure will provoke discussion, debate and laughter from audiences of ages. Re/trato is a well crafted exhibition that should not be missed.

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Travelling Gallery is supported by the Scottish Arts Council.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Link

• Travelling Gallery