Invited Artists 2012

Posted

Jessica Harrison;
‘Touchstones’

This installation comprises of a series of stone sculptures exhibited alongside video documentation of the making process. Starting with a hand-sized ball of soft clay, the subject (a different person for each sculpture) works blindly; pushing, folding, manipulating the clay and the felt space. The video footage shows the subject’s face during this process, taken whilst the clay was manipulated, juxtaposed to explore the relationship between sight and touch, between our visual and our tactile imagination. The sculptures are scaled up from the initial clay impressions that fit within the palm of the hand into carved stone, to a size around which the whole body can wrap itself. This size stems from the traditional use of the human body as a unit of measure, the scale of the pieces comparable to the weight and density of the human body. Like the nature of the Homunculus, shifting shape proportional to the magnitude of sensation in feels, its shape controlled by sensation, the Touchstones magnify moments of touch and the measurements of a body’s tactility, impressing into stone the movements of the hand, describing the movement of the body that is intertwined with sensation.

Andrea Geile; Vertical Biotopes.

“The catalyst for this group of sculptures is the new Beauly to Denny power line. I began to wonder if there could be any benefit in leaving some of the old transmission towers in situ to be recycled into ecosystems, replacing lost forests and ever decreasing habitats – instead of being scrapped. Through colonising the structures with native plants I aim to create a positive approach to questions about the beauty, use and sustainability of man made structures in the landscape.

Working mainly for outdoor spaces, using sculptural techniques and live plants, my practice explores how we have shaped and utilised landscapes for our political, economic and spiritual needs. ‘Vertical Biotopes’ is an idea, formed by memory of nature and cultural identity. The small scale of these sculptures plays with visual expectation and allows for reflection on diverse discourses such as the role of monumental public art and the historic romanticisation of landscape.

The word ‘biotope’ describes a limited area of specific ecology and includes a complete environmental approach. It is a keyword for the preservation, regeneration, and creation of natural environmental settings.”