Inchmore Gallery, Inchmore, Inverness-shire, until 20 June

Nigel Sandeman - The Big Smoke (image courtesy of Inchmore Gallery)

INCHMORE GALLERY presents a varied and interesting selection of work this month including new work by James Newton Adams, Rupert Copping, Jenny Hepburn, Gwen Black and Fiona Matheson in the downstairs galleries, and upstairs The Digital Divide, with work by Nigel Sandeman, Michael Stuart Green and Fiona Cameron.

The Digital Divide is a fascinating show for the questions that it raises in regard to original printmaking, the craft of creating images and the use of technology as a tool for expression.

Michael Stuart Green combines a range of printmaking techniques in his practice including ODP (original digital printmaking), monotype, collagraph, linocut, etched lino and woodcut, all of which are in evidence in a variety of combinations in the nine works on display. Using a graphic tablet to draw and evolving the image via a matrix which generates the print as a long sequence of computer coding, this technology is part of a variety of techniques employed by the artist to create multilayered images of depth and complexity.

There is always a sense in Green’s work of the artist’s hand being present. Trees and Stable at Belladrum (Mixed Printmaking) is a good example, conveying the freshness of a charcoal sketch coupled with the fluidity of a watercolour. The image does not look overcooked, it hasn’t had the life effectively manipulated out of it, but retains the information it needs to lead the viewer into the image.

Belladrama (Mixed Printmaking) introduces relief printing overlay to clearly computer-generated sections in a seemingly natural and integrated way. There is no sense of “divide” in the artist’s work in terms of methodology. This is also exemplified by Across The Ditch, Belladrum (Mixed printmaking) where the eye is lead convincingly into the work in a complex pastiche of technique.

A variety of mark complimented by a subtle palette of grey, green and pink and arrangement of form are part of the dynamics of the image. Lino cut in the foreground brings it immediately forward while the sketchier details in the background further enhance the perspective of the scene as our eye is lead through the trees to the buildings beyond. Traditional printmaking techniques are overlaid as part of the artist’s impressive command of the medium.

A criticism of digital imaging both in printmaking and in film is that the resulting images lack depth or a range of tonality. It is precisely this quality, however, that can be extremely well suited to a particular artist’s intentions or mode of expression in relation to the chosen subject matter.

With digitally generated inkjet printing flooding the art market and the line between original printmaking and reproduction printing already blurred in the public mind, it is important for each individual artist to assess whether going digital is appropriate in relation to their creative process, and to what degree.

If an artist creates an inkjet reproduction of an original piece of work does it adequately represent their practice? If digital methods are used exclusively to create work or used as part of the toolkit of techniques to create an original piece of work does the technique equal the idea? Is it the most appropriate mode of expression for the given body of work or is it simply being used as part of our wider cultural and social obsession with technological upgrading?

The art of NOW clearly dictates a digital buzz in the contemporary art world. Whilst technology opens up an exciting range of creative possibilities, is relatively inexpensive and therefore accessible to all, it is ultimately engagement with the craft of image-making regardless of medium that allows an image, still or moving, to communicate and connect with the viewer.

Nigel Sandeman’s work uses digital technology to generate images derived from traditional line drawing coupled with an understanding of colour, form and composition derived from painting. There is a sense of assemblage in Sandeman’s images which in works like Biology/ Language/ Intellect are superbly balanced in terms of colour and composition. There is density in the image both in terms of layered technique and the imprint of the mind upon the work bound into its intricate patterns and textures.

Works like Glasgow N02 seem less convincing, conveying the quality of a scanned drawing collaged into a pleasing composition, but several steps removed from the artist’s first and immediate drawn response. Using “digital technology to interact with his work” clearly comes into play in this piece; there is less of a feeling of integration between the process and the final image we are confronted with.

Tectonic Maze is another example of a beautifully composed arrangement of line, form and colour in yellow, green and blue, but I could not help but feel frustrated by the flattened dimension characteristic of the inkjet. In this particular work it felt like a second-hand transmission of vital marks made by the artist in a digital amalgamation of drawn elements.

Sandeman is clearly visually literate, with a considered, painterly eye, and yet this obvious talent seemed somewhat obscured by the chosen means of expression. The artist’s comment that “being short of space at home to paint has led (him) into the use of digital technology” is an interesting one in relation to the space between the artist, screen and image.

Fiona Cameron has contributed three experimental stop-frame animation pieces to the exhibition. Inspired by the work of animators such as Yuri Norstein, Michael Gondry and Andres Nilson, Cameron’s Poke Felanthropist, a tale in homage to her dead cat, utilises hand drawn images contained within a gold picture frame.

Continuity of light between each frame sometimes obscures the drawing and whilst this stilted rhythm is part of the charm of Deadflies and Butterfly (and perfectly in tune with the soundtrack by band Frightened Rabbit) here it detracts from engagement with the drawn animation. As a result Poke Felanthropist is more memorable for its soundtrack than its visuals.

The City Export, one of Cameron’s first animations, shows promise, with the torn two dimensional image of a city and its flyovers brought to life by cut out animated vehicles. I found myself craving the next step with this work, to go down into those spaghetti junctions and become immersed into that world.

A layering of techniques and camera angles would achieve this without potentially losing the handmade conception or construction of the work. It will be exciting to see this artist’s work develop in future as a result of further development and investigation of her craft. Overall, The Digital Divide is a fascinating show and an excellent visual stimulus for debate.

© Georgina Coburn, 2009

Links

• Inchmore Gallery