Glasgow-Hebrides knot on Colm Cille’s Spiral, a Derry~Londonderry City of Culture 2013 project
New work by Emma
Balkind, Susan Brind, Caroline Dear, Hardeep Pandhal, Edwin Pickstone, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Michail
Mersinis,
Jessica Ramm, Johnny Rodger, Augustus Veinoglou
Balkind, Susan Brind, Caroline Dear, Hardeep Pandhal, Edwin Pickstone, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Michail
Mersinis,
Jessica Ramm, Johnny Rodger, Augustus Veinoglou
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| A still from Jessica Ramm’s The Walking of the Peats |
An exhibition of works created as part of a Colm Cille’s Spiral, a re-imagination of
the legacy of sixth-century Irish monk Colm Cille, (St Columba), opened in
Glasgow today.
Colm Cille’s Spiral is presented through a
series of contemporary art and literature commissions and dialogues, which are
currently unfolding across Ireland and the UK. Following a notional spiral, six
contemporary artistic interpretations, resulting from a collaboration of
artists, writers and academics, are linking revered and significant sites along
once-vital perimeters and sea routes. Scotland’s ‘knot’ on this notional
spiral brings together Glasgow and the Inner Hebrides, and takes the form of a
creative dialogue, a ‘journey of ideas’.
series of contemporary art and literature commissions and dialogues, which are
currently unfolding across Ireland and the UK. Following a notional spiral, six
contemporary artistic interpretations, resulting from a collaboration of
artists, writers and academics, are linking revered and significant sites along
once-vital perimeters and sea routes. Scotland’s ‘knot’ on this notional
spiral brings together Glasgow and the Inner Hebrides, and takes the form of a
creative dialogue, a ‘journey of ideas’.
Colm Cille’s Spiral crosses the modern
national borders of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland at a
pertinent moment in their collective histories. Yet, the 6th century picture
was very different. Colm Cille was a key figure at the heart of the explosion of
culture and learning that emanated from early medieval Ireland and spread
through and beyond the British Isles. Carried on this wave of monastic
innovation, a new culture of word and image spread open access to knowledge.
national borders of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland at a
pertinent moment in their collective histories. Yet, the 6th century picture
was very different. Colm Cille was a key figure at the heart of the explosion of
culture and learning that emanated from early medieval Ireland and spread
through and beyond the British Isles. Carried on this wave of monastic
innovation, a new culture of word and image spread open access to knowledge.
“The
Spiral is a common form in Celtic manuscripts and monuments, which amongst
various meanings represents the dialectic; a method of debate for resolving
disagreement,” says curator of the Scottish
knot, GSA’s Exhibitions Director Jenny Brownrigg. “The format of Convocation
echoes the dynamic of the ‘spiral’ rather than a circle or cycle. The group
gathered on Raasay, Skye (Ruminatio), then dissipated (Meditatio), then
re-gathered in Glasgow (Revelatio). Our aim was to create new knowledge through
making contemporary responses to the extreme past.”
Spiral is a common form in Celtic manuscripts and monuments, which amongst
various meanings represents the dialectic; a method of debate for resolving
disagreement,” says curator of the Scottish
knot, GSA’s Exhibitions Director Jenny Brownrigg. “The format of Convocation
echoes the dynamic of the ‘spiral’ rather than a circle or cycle. The group
gathered on Raasay, Skye (Ruminatio), then dissipated (Meditatio), then
re-gathered in Glasgow (Revelatio). Our aim was to create new knowledge through
making contemporary responses to the extreme past.”
During the research residency
the group responded to a series of questions inspired by themes linked to St
Columba and medieval thinking, which were framed by Prof Clare Lees and Kathryn
Maude from King’s College London. The questions enabled to group to explore the
relevance of past ways of thinking and understanding from a contemporary
perspective, allowing for and encouraging a group as well as individual
responses. Thus the approach links to the notion of ‘the monastery’ as a place
to develop knowledge through living as a group and generating ideas in a
community.
the group responded to a series of questions inspired by themes linked to St
Columba and medieval thinking, which were framed by Prof Clare Lees and Kathryn
Maude from King’s College London. The questions enabled to group to explore the
relevance of past ways of thinking and understanding from a contemporary
perspective, allowing for and encouraging a group as well as individual
responses. Thus the approach links to the notion of ‘the monastery’ as a place
to develop knowledge through living as a group and generating ideas in a
community.
In Sweet Surrender, (neon
text, 2013) Susan Brind, artist and
recently appointed Reader in Sculpture and Environmental art at the GSA,
reflects on the final command
uttered by St Columba in the 7th century to his community on Iona,
and references Tim Buckley’s seductive voice singing the refrain from 1972:
“…. sweet surrender, it’s so
sweet to surrender, oh sweet surrender to love …”. Both speak of love;
one secular the other sacred, but both felt intensely. On the last day of his
life, at the point when his corporeal self was giving way to unite with the
Divine he so desired, and with foresight of the imminence of his death, Columba
said: “love one another unfeignedly”. Four simple words but can we
really understand them in their fullest sense?
text, 2013) Susan Brind, artist and
recently appointed Reader in Sculpture and Environmental art at the GSA,
reflects on the final command
uttered by St Columba in the 7th century to his community on Iona,
and references Tim Buckley’s seductive voice singing the refrain from 1972:
“…. sweet surrender, it’s so
sweet to surrender, oh sweet surrender to love …”. Both speak of love;
one secular the other sacred, but both felt intensely. On the last day of his
life, at the point when his corporeal self was giving way to unite with the
Divine he so desired, and with foresight of the imminence of his death, Columba
said: “love one another unfeignedly”. Four simple words but can we
really understand them in their fullest sense?
|
| Thomas Joshua Cooper |
Over an eleven-day period,
acclaimed Fine Art photographer Thomas
Joshua Cooper travelled to Skye, Raasay, Cumbria and Northern Ireland,
covering a total of 3,135 miles. He presents a series of exquisite black and
white images of the birthplaces of Celtic saints. Remembering the Celtic
Peregrinati – Saint Patrick, Brendan and Columba comprises five works: Looking towards Ireland – St Patrick’s
birthplace. The River Mite, Ravenglass, Cumbria (2013); Evening – The Reputed Burial Place of the Irish Saints –Patrick,
Brigid and Columba. The River Quoile, Downpatrick,
County Down, Ireland (2013); Evening – St Columba’s Birthplace. Gartan Lough, County Donegal, Ireland
(2013); Last light – Looking West – the
Birthplace of St Brendan the Navigator, the Wanderer. The North Atlantic
Ocean and Brendon Bay, Brandon Point, The Dingle Peninsula, County Derry,
Ireland, (2002-13); Last Light – High
wind – A Crossing Point. The River Foyle – Lowther Peace Bridge, Derry,
County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (2013)
acclaimed Fine Art photographer Thomas
Joshua Cooper travelled to Skye, Raasay, Cumbria and Northern Ireland,
covering a total of 3,135 miles. He presents a series of exquisite black and
white images of the birthplaces of Celtic saints. Remembering the Celtic
Peregrinati – Saint Patrick, Brendan and Columba comprises five works: Looking towards Ireland – St Patrick’s
birthplace. The River Mite, Ravenglass, Cumbria (2013); Evening – The Reputed Burial Place of the Irish Saints –Patrick,
Brigid and Columba. The River Quoile, Downpatrick,
County Down, Ireland (2013); Evening – St Columba’s Birthplace. Gartan Lough, County Donegal, Ireland
(2013); Last light – Looking West – the
Birthplace of St Brendan the Navigator, the Wanderer. The North Atlantic
Ocean and Brendon Bay, Brandon Point, The Dingle Peninsula, County Derry,
Ireland, (2002-13); Last Light – High
wind – A Crossing Point. The River Foyle – Lowther Peace Bridge, Derry,
County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (2013)
Caroline Dear takes
a small wooden fragment found in the library of Raasay House as the starting
point The nature of I, an
exploration of a society and art world that relishes and worships the ego. By contrast, at the time of Columba, a monk’s
aim was to lose the individual, the ego, in recognition of the greater I, the
creator of all. Dear shows the original wooden panel alongside a wall painting
made using a compound of peat.
a small wooden fragment found in the library of Raasay House as the starting
point The nature of I, an
exploration of a society and art world that relishes and worships the ego. By contrast, at the time of Columba, a monk’s
aim was to lose the individual, the ego, in recognition of the greater I, the
creator of all. Dear shows the original wooden panel alongside a wall painting
made using a compound of peat.
|
| A work from the series In Praise of Conjecture by Hardeep Pandhal |
The title of Hardeep Pandhal’s In
Praise of Conjecture is inspired
by Eramus’s parodic essay ‘In Praise of Folly’. The work consists of
four components laid flat on a single, , plinth: a video, a drawing, research books
and a custom airbrush t-shirt. In addition, a specially-commissioned ballad is
emitted from inside the plinth. The installation reflects how the artist saw
ritual behaviour being played out during the Raasay residency. In
Praise of Conjecture illustrates how
intention may be imposed by others through communal and often seam-less
pressures. For the artist this is what religious experience is – it is about
initiation and the lengths one may go to feel a part of a group or some thing.
At a distance this process can seem absurd.
Praise of Conjecture is inspired
by Eramus’s parodic essay ‘In Praise of Folly’. The work consists of
four components laid flat on a single, , plinth: a video, a drawing, research books
and a custom airbrush t-shirt. In addition, a specially-commissioned ballad is
emitted from inside the plinth. The installation reflects how the artist saw
ritual behaviour being played out during the Raasay residency. In
Praise of Conjecture illustrates how
intention may be imposed by others through communal and often seam-less
pressures. For the artist this is what religious experience is – it is about
initiation and the lengths one may go to feel a part of a group or some thing.
At a distance this process can seem absurd.
One of the two project
“illuminators”, Edwin Pickstone
presents Map of a Convocation: Raasay. Using the
landscape to structure content, the print is a map of Raasay and of the
residency; it both records the experience of the residency and offers a guide
to the processes behind the artworks. Influences in the work range from
illuminated manuscripts through early medieval maps and 18th century design
practices (the latter made relevant through Samuel Johnson’s 1773 account of
the island).
“illuminators”, Edwin Pickstone
presents Map of a Convocation: Raasay. Using the
landscape to structure content, the print is a map of Raasay and of the
residency; it both records the experience of the residency and offers a guide
to the processes behind the artworks. Influences in the work range from
illuminated manuscripts through early medieval maps and 18th century design
practices (the latter made relevant through Samuel Johnson’s 1773 account of
the island).
In the film The Walking of the Peats
Jessica Ramm interrogates the restriction placed on an exiled Columba that
his feet “should never again touch Irish soil.” On returning to Ireland the
saint took with him clods of Scottish peat and used them as shoes ensuring that
his feet did not touch Irish soil. Ramm re-enacts this, tying Raasay peat onto
her feet, with grass ropes made by Caroline Dear.
Jessica Ramm interrogates the restriction placed on an exiled Columba that
his feet “should never again touch Irish soil.” On returning to Ireland the
saint took with him clods of Scottish peat and used them as shoes ensuring that
his feet did not touch Irish soil. Ramm re-enacts this, tying Raasay peat onto
her feet, with grass ropes made by Caroline Dear.
Reader in Urban Literature at the Mackintosh School of Architecture at
the GSA, John Rodger, enters the
realm of gender politics with Where there is a woman. St Columba was attributed
with the saying ‘where there is a cow there is a woman. Where there is a woman
there is trouble’. The piece, which
takes it title from a Gaelic proverb attributed to St Columba, presents women
singing and reciting and explores gender relations in the context of the sea
journey, the lyric, the meeting of ocean and land, and the identity of
territory. Where there is a woman combines text, video (filming Talitha
Kotze, editing Ry McLeod) and architectural drawing.
the GSA, John Rodger, enters the
realm of gender politics with Where there is a woman. St Columba was attributed
with the saying ‘where there is a cow there is a woman. Where there is a woman
there is trouble’. The piece, which
takes it title from a Gaelic proverb attributed to St Columba, presents women
singing and reciting and explores gender relations in the context of the sea
journey, the lyric, the meeting of ocean and land, and the identity of
territory. Where there is a woman combines text, video (filming Talitha
Kotze, editing Ry McLeod) and architectural drawing.
An event by the second of
the two project “illuminators”, Emma Balkind, was staged at the CCA on the
afternoon of 11 October as the group reassembled for the Revelatio. During the Ruminatio
on Raasay people sang,
spoke in different languages, taught the group skills, played instruments,
shared stories, swam in the sea and shared every meal together. Balkind
audio recorded the residency and at the CCA event presented sounds of the place and
time as the group experienced it.
the two project “illuminators”, Emma Balkind, was staged at the CCA on the
afternoon of 11 October as the group reassembled for the Revelatio. During the Ruminatio
on Raasay people sang,
spoke in different languages, taught the group skills, played instruments,
shared stories, swam in the sea and shared every meal together. Balkind
audio recorded the residency and at the CCA event presented sounds of the place and
time as the group experienced it.
After the Glasgow exhibition work
will be taken to London Street Gallery, Derry ~ Londonderry, for an exhibition
featuring all the presentations from the UK and Eire that make up Colm
Cille’s Spiral. This exhibition will open on 30 November 2013.
Colm Cille’s Spiral is a Difference Exchange
project in partnership with The Centre for Late Antiquities and Medieval
Studies (CLAMS), and King’s Cultural Institute, King’s College London. Convocation is led by The Glasgow
School of Art, in partnership with CCA, University of Glasgow and ATLAS Arts.
project in partnership with The Centre for Late Antiquities and Medieval
Studies (CLAMS), and King’s Cultural Institute, King’s College London. Convocation is led by The Glasgow
School of Art, in partnership with CCA, University of Glasgow and ATLAS Arts.
Ends
Notes for Editors
·
‘Convocation’ is supported by Creative
Scotland’s Creative Futures Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, CCA, Atlas and
University of Glasgow
‘Convocation’ is supported by Creative
Scotland’s Creative Futures Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, CCA, Atlas and
University of Glasgow
·
ATLAS Arts are Skye based producers and
commissioners of contemporary art that create connections between artists and
audiences, and respond to the unique qualities of this region, its landscapes,
its culture and its people. http://www.atlasarts.org.uk
ATLAS Arts are Skye based producers and
commissioners of contemporary art that create connections between artists and
audiences, and respond to the unique qualities of this region, its landscapes,
its culture and its people. http://www.atlasarts.org.uk
Lesley Booth 0779 941 4474 /
press@gsa.ac.uk