The Fruitmarket, Edinburgh’s contemporary art gallery, is hosting a new exhibition as part of the Deep Time festival, which celebrates the city’s geological and cultural heritage. The exhibition, titled p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r, features the work of six artists who use everyday objects and materials to create installations that reflect on the meaning and value of clutter.
What is p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r?
The exhibition’s curator, Fiona Bradley, explains that p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r is an acronym for “Personal, Emotional, Relational, Spatial, Organisational, Narrative, Aesthetic, Linguistic, Cultural, Liminal, Unconscious, Temporal, Transformative, Experimental, and Relational”. She says that these are some of the aspects that the artists explore in their work, which ranges from sculptures and paintings to sound and video.
Who are the artists?
The six artists featured in the exhibition are:
- Phoebe Boswell, a Kenyan-British artist who uses drawing, animation, and interactive technology to create immersive installations that explore identity, migration, and belonging. Her work in the exhibition, titled The Space Between Things, consists of a large-scale charcoal drawing of a cluttered room, accompanied by a soundtrack of voices and sounds that evoke memories and emotions.
- Michael Landy, a British artist who is best known for his 2001 project Break Down, in which he destroyed all his possessions in a public performance. His work in the exhibition, titled Art Bin, is a large transparent container that invites visitors to throw away their unwanted artworks, creating a collective pile of artistic clutter.
- Lee Mingwei, a Taiwanese-American artist who creates participatory projects that invite strangers to interact and exchange stories, gifts, and experiences. His work in the exhibition, titled The Moving Garden, is a long granite table filled with fresh flowers, which visitors can take with them if they promise to give them to someone they do not know.
- Cornelia Parker, a British artist who is known for her installations that involve the transformation of everyday objects through processes such as explosion, compression, and suspension. Her work in the exhibition, titled Thirty Pieces of Silver, is a collection of silver-plated objects, such as cutlery, trays, and teapots, that have been flattened by a steamroller and suspended from the ceiling by wires.
- Pipilotti Rist, a Swiss artist who uses video, sound, and installation to create immersive and sensual environments that challenge the conventions of perception and representation. Her work in the exhibition, titled Ever is Over All, is a two-channel video projection that shows a woman walking down a street and smashing car windows with a large metal flower, while a policewoman smiles and salutes her.
- Haegue Yang, a South Korean artist who uses diverse materials and techniques to create installations that explore themes such as migration, cultural identity, and social history. Her work in the exhibition, titled Sonic Intermediates – Three Differential Equations, is a series of sculptures made of metal frames, wires, bells, and artificial plants, which produce sounds and movements in response to the presence of visitors.
When and where can you see it?
The exhibition is open from 18 November to 23 December 2023, at the Fruitmarket, 45 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DF. The opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Admission is free, but booking is required. You can book your tickets online here.
The exhibition is part of the Deep Time festival, which runs from 17 November to 31 December 2023, and features a range of events and activities that explore the connections between art, science, and the environment. You can find out more about the festival here.
