ARTISTS TALKING

And here’s to you Market Gallery'

There’s been a lot going on at grassroots level in Glasgow recently, with a variety of initiatives emerging through the irrepressible energies of various art school departments and their former students, and also with the migration to Glasgow of many art graduates from other cities. Perhaps in response to this, Market Gallery has curated an exhibition with a remit to support very recent graduates chosen from the four Scottish art schools, aiming to offer support and encouragement during what can often be a testing time.

Market holds a unique position within the Glasgow art scene, as an artist-run space that holds its own within the community of Dennistoun, outside the city-centre art circuit. Much effort has been made to create a rapport with the local community, allowing a symbiotic relationship in what might otherwise be an awkward juxtaposition of cultural extremes. A good indicator of this is the way local children feel at ease to enter the gallery, investigate the work, and at times get involved. “We work here y’know,” I was told very convincingly by two eight-year-olds, as they pointed out various aspects of the work from their perspective, a refreshing change from the ‘walking on eggshells’ feel of many galleries.

There is much about this exhibition that appeals to children: touchy feely sculptures, tanks of steaming water, theatrical sets. Using a variety of approaches, the artists have plundered their surrounding culture, probing the nature of ‘Scottishness’ and what it is to be an artist. The works often show a preoccupation with the processes of change and the knowledge that sometimes in order to move forward it is helpful to look to the past.

In the installation When It’s Frosty He Likes To Lick Lamposts, Emma Pratt has created a series of small-scale sculptural scenarios using cast bronze, wood, and plaster to create hybrid forms and three-dimensional collage. Hung sheets of vegetable fat are carved up like pre-cooked strudel or pushed through a garlic press to create texture (think 1960s bathing hats). These are augmented with areas of pink and blue food dye, and drawn figures added into the equation in a variety of neurotic poses, with something of a Man about the House feel to them.

Leon Hill uses a series of microphones, speakers, fibre optics and heat sensors to create a self-analysing system, a tank for Frankenstein’s monster without the monster, generating a steamy atmosphere, and an intriguing smokescreen of condensation on the windows.

Miranda Blennerhassett works directly onto the walls and floor of the gallery in grey and white paint to mirror the dimensions of the gallery space. She plays with light, shadow and reflection, and the juxtaposition of the outline of an exterior tree with more contrived interior design motifs.

In the other half of the gallery Joe Reeves, has built an installation I Love DIY which exhibits the detritus of its construction and whose only function is to house the plans and drawings that went into the development of this construction. Fair enough.

In her video work The Weavers, Mairi Lafferty uses two views of a female dancer to interpret the thrashing rhythm of a weaver’s loom. Stuart McCaffer has constructed a fireside scenario that mocks the ubiquitous Monarch Of the Glen image, using overused and clichéd symbols of a dusty biscuit-tin Scottishness that remain only for the benefit of the tourist industry.

These artists are linked by a need to place themselves within and make sense of a fast-changing culture, investigating themes and ideas that are personal yet universal, relevant to us all. They too might feel the anxiety and confusion of The Graduate’s Benjamin Braddock, trying to see where they fit into the grand scheme of things. Ironically, despite gaining in maturity as an organisation, Market Gallery also finds itself in a continuing state of insecurity, lacking any core funding from the Scottish Arts Council. Nevertheless, the liveliness and diversity of its current exhibition programme is testament to the energy and perseverance of those involved, helping to create an ongoing dialogue and dynamic within this part of the city.

Coo coo ca-choo, Market Gallery
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