21st September

Paul Purgas: We Found Our Own Reality 2021

Paul Purgas is a contemporary artist and musician based in London working with sound, installation, and performance. He was initially trained as an architect and studied at the University of Westminster. He was taught by Cedric Price who instilled the idea that architecture was transferable across all mediums. Purgas would later realise that he didn't want to be an architect after learning that he would be creativity constrained. He then studied at the Royal College of Arts London which he would later drop out to explore the possibilities of sound and architectural space. The exhibition at Tramway (We Found Our Own Reality - 2021) is a celebration of Indian electronic music, Indian architecture, and culture fused into a cohesive installation. Using old cassettes found from the NID (National Institute of Design) in 1969, Purgas layered up the different sounds and recordings he found, varying from the sounds of old technology and electronic music to the ambient sounds of Indian wildlife and busy streets.  What drew me to this work was the sounds, the way the overlapping sound and music create an overwhelming feeling and atmosphere both before and after you enter the exhibition. I felt that the layout of the space invited you in and made me feel more interested, the large room adding to the exhibition as the sound echoed through. When stood in the middle of the room, all the sounds overlap and engulf you. The centrally placed concrete floor sculpture is by Indian Architect Aditya Prakash, who studied at Glasgow School of Art. The design of the sculpture is informed by the texture and pattern seen in traditional Indian fabrics like the surrounding blank canvases of Gujarati fabric, spiritual designs, and Indian graphical systems. This exhibition helped me understand how installation spaces like this are set out. The way everything was positioned has had an effect on the way I imagine my installations being in the future. I think that the lighting used for the exhibition complimented the sounds from the speakers as it lit the whole room completely, which made you feel small compared to the exhibition. I think that this was one of the most influential installations I have been to, it was similar to artist Bruce Nauman who I already take influence from. This exhibition proved to me that using sound is a way to enhance the artwork that is being viewed. 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/14/i-found-the-roots-of-electronica-in-a-cupboard-the-tale-of-indias-lost-techno-pioneers 

https://rebeccauffindell.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/paul-purgas/

Mandy Barker - Our Plastic Ocean 2021

Mandy Barker is an award winning photographer whos work has gained international recognition. and Our Plastic Ocean was a statement and a reflection on the impact of plastic on our ecosystem. It had interactive elements along with the main exhibitions series of photographs. 

Glasgow Print Studio - Mono 2021

This exhibition was collective work from artists at the Glasgow Print Studio. What connects these artists and works is the medium, Mono-printing. The exhibition features thirty artists that have produced monoprint and monotype work. The exhibition was interesting as it showed the many different interpretations from a single medium. I was more drawn to the portraiture work like in the exhibition Commissar I (2021) - Ken Currie and Nightswimmer (2021) - Marc Jennings because of my personal preference for work. It was interesting to see work i wouldn't normally be inclined to look at, like more abstract colour work. This is what I felt is important about group exhibitions as it allows people to discover new art and different ways of thinking. 

https://www.gpsart.co.uk/Home/DisplayExhibition/231?year=2021

Martin Boyce - NO CLOUDS OR STREAMS NO INFORMATION OR MEMORY 2021

Martin Boyce is a painter and sculptor from South Lanarkshire. Boyce studied environmental art at Glasgow School of Art. He won the Turner Prize in 2011 for his installation "Do Words Have Voices - 2011), which was a recreation of a park in autumn. The exhibition at the Modern Institute was simplistic and silent, the way that the space was arranged was the thing that drew me in and interested me. The positioning choice of the sculptures felt very deliberate in the way that they are put off from the centre and in the corners, it makes you walk around the room from corner to corner. The white walls contrasted with the paintings and sculptures created a feeling of emptiness that puts you on edge and draws you in. The simplicity of the paintings is inviting, the colours aren't harsh or violent, they're calm. Something I can learn from this exhibition was how important the narrative of the gallery space is and how to construct one using the space around the work. After seeing this exhibition it made me realise how important the set-up is and how it helps tell the story of the works, the gallery space will naturally have an impact on the way that the viewer perceives the work. This is why it is equally important to think about the space you're displaying your work. The Boyce exhibition was quiet, clear, light and tranquil, which made the space feel calm, the work disrupted this calm and made me feel on edge. The work felt heavy because of the quietness of the space. 

https://www.themoderninstitute.com/exhibitions/