A group exhibition which brings together 8 contemporary scottish artists to explore scottish identity and culture during the referendum period.
My Contribution: "Real Life and How to Live it in Pangea. A large scale installation with video, free posters and postcards articulating the idea where the supercontinent Pangea (250 million years ago) and Pangea Ultima (in 250 million years time) stand for periods of Global hope and continuity exploring the idea that that the current stormy world situation is a mere blip in Geological time.
FEATURING WORK BY - JOHN AYSCOUGH, RABIYA CHOUDHRY, RACHEL MACLEAN, STUART MURRAY, ORTONANDON, ROSS SINCLAIR
The exhibition Over the Counter Culture reflects on the constructions, definitions and meanings of contemporary Scottish Identity. With only a few weeks to go until the vote on Scottish Independence, this exhibition provides a perfect platform for debate and discussion during the Referendum period.
The exhibition opens with a live performance from the three sister collaborative Ortonandon. The performance, which features their mother, will explore issues of sister and motherhood within the Scottish family. A documentation of this event will show for the duration of the exhibition.
Ross Sinclair’s work, which often uses a multitude of materials and methods associated with advertising including posters, billboards, slogan T-shirts and neon signs, will feature not only in the gallery on Market Street but also in other venues throughout Ullapool. This installation is to be shown in Scotland for the first time during this show, it was last exhibited in Wales twenty years ago.
Rachel Maclean’s short film The Lion and the Unicorn is not to be missed, in her trademark style Maclean transforms herself using costumes, makeup, and digital retouching. The Lion and the Unicorn presents a compelling discussion on Scottish identity touching on nationalism, trade and finance, natural resources and politics. A series of prints are presented alongside the film, further exploring themes of Scottish identity in Maclean’s trademark maximalistic style.
Other work in the exhibition includes two paintings by Rabiya Choudhry exploring multiculturalism in Scotland and a series of prints by Stuart Murray. John Ayscough reveals his latest project that encouraged school pupils from Galashiels in the Borders and Ullapool in the Highlands to contemplate Scottish identity by designing a new hat for a new Scotland. A prototype, the original designs and series of portraits of the artist in hats will be on show.The work on show in this exhibition reveals many of the complex layers of identity that make up modern Scotland today, creating a fascinating tableau for discussion and contemplation during the Referendum period. Over the Counter Culture is an exhibition that deserves to be seen in context.
“A large section of the gallery has been occupied by the colourful and provocative presence of Ross Sinclair. His work has long delved into the ways in which art and politics interconnect, and it is fantastic opportunity to experience Real Life and How to Live It: Pangea. “ Susan Christie
