The focus of this work is a bouquet of roses. For many years now, I have received roses. Many women receive flowers, it is considered a tradition, customary, an occasion for every day. But each time I get a bouquet, a sense of sadness and momentary reflection comes over me. Roses have come for delightful and happy occasions, but also extremely sad and devastating ones. And at times, these moments were almost experienced simultaneously. As years go by, roses come and go. Roses blend our lives.
In April this year, I photographically captured roses that, to me, offered a sense of eternity, beauty, but also fragility, an ephemeral presence. The roses lasted many days, more so than on any other occasion. And as they started to wither, their colour became even more beautiful. And the roses reminded me of my infant son and mum, both gone now, many years in-between. I think of them every day and wished to record that moment. Coloured petals, fading. Fragile, a light burning.
My somber heart lit up (2022) - multi media, photographic print on acetate - displayed in a light box
Remember this too (2022) - photographic print on card
I never promised you a rose garden (2022) - multimedia, photographic print on acetate.
I am organising this small art exhibition and utterly busy in the day job, so slightly delayed post here.
The weekend of 11-12 and 25-26 September the history hub at granton:hub is presenting: From the Past to the Future. They developed rich and informative display boards, all in all, multiple displays on Granton’s Industries, Transport, Harbour and Agriculture. In addition, a separate room is hosting the Edinburgh City Council Waterfront Development Display. To coincide with this heritage event, I am organising a sale of original artworks celebrating local scenery and heritage.
I have two works on display, one entitled Sanctuary I (about rubbish on our beaches) and a second one, an old favourite, the Granton Gasworks holder number 1. And somebody bought it!
Now a week later and I can look back on the Recycl-Age Art exhibition I organised at granton:hub over these past 6 months.
This was a most challenging event to produce, manage and curate on many different fronts. The ever changing COVID situation was increasingly adding pressures to the planning of the event. It became clear that although we could go ahead, we needed to be careful in how we would manage visitors, as well as any other pre-planning that would be taking place to ensure the smooth delivery of the exhibition.
We also had many more submissions from further afield (including Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Argyle), and more than we could possible hang compared to Art in Granton 2016 and 2019. More 3D work had been put forward, some in a proposal stage and difficult to anticipate. The final weeks were dense, with many e-mails trying to coordinate the hand-ins of the work, not easy as granton:hub was (and is) still closed in view of restricted activities. It was difficult to meet with other volunteers, and with having to fit in a kids' workshop and walking tour to pick up rubbish (as part of the Coastal Knowledge funded project). It seems that every weekend was spent having to coordinate yet another piece of the jigsaw.
Fortunately on Wednesday before the opening (Friday 9 July) my plans more or less came together. I spent 2 days solid with Ian Reddie, hanging all the works and using props from the upstairs theatre rehearsal room to create plinths for presenting art objects. I was rather pleased that it was now clear we would be having a diverse show, artists showing imaginative, innovative and thoughtful work, with intricate detail and superb craftsmanship. Prices, with the exception of a few artworks, were rather subdued. It is unclear why as the artistic efforts of producing the work were obvious. I am guessing that maybe artists anticipated that buyers are under pressure too, and therefore sale prices were pitched lower, to still aim for success during these difficult financial times. Or did it reflect on incorporating recycled materials, maybe considered too new to be valued?
The Friday evening formal opening, despite restrictions on the numbers and not open to the general public, still had a celebratory tone thanks to MP Deidre Brock recognising the importance of the story that artists were sharing. As the Shadow SNP Spokesperson for the Environment, she emphasised that we need to take action now, our planet is under threat... plastics, rubbish is everywhere. Ahead of COP26 we are made aware yet gain of what is going on with our planet. And we need to take responsibility. Indeed, the additional unveiling of the newly installed art boards on the Madelvic factory next door to granton:hub was confronted by fly-tipping which had been reported to the council who, to this day, still have not taken action.
The lack of general public attendance on Friday evening was balanced by the continued interest over the three days. We could count on the extra publicity from Granton Castle Friends of the Walled Garden as well as the granton:hub plant sale and Scrapstore Open Day on Sunday. It is clear these are excellent partnerships which we must further nurture. I am estimating we had a footfall of around 200 people, similar to the exhibition in 2019, an excellent performance considering the uncertainty of our plans only a few weeks before.
We were successful in selling work by 8 artists and 1 photographer. This was a good result but we do need to think about the business model for the future which granton:hub will need to review now. Like so many other charities, we are severely hit by COVID and our income has dropped dramatically these past 18 months. Free submission and just 20% commission we charge on work that carries a low price is a tricky income model. Despite working with volunteers, we need to think about the sustainability of our plans but also keep in mind our aim of being inclusive and community based. Noone likes to work for free, including artists, and it makes me think how we can move on with future plans.
The night before the opening I recorded a quick video. Alas, the pressures of managing the event itself did not allow me to shoot more. The video presents all the works and includes a total of 24 artists. Two artists made a small adjustment to their display on the opening day, just one of the challenges of dealing with 3D presentations and coordinating artist input.
Unfortunately my own exhibition installation was severely limited, both in the time I managed to set aside to develop it (too much to organise myself) and space restrictions. In view of COVID we were forced to impose a one-way visitor flow and the old impressive and dark Victorian staircase of Madelvic House, ideally suited to a sight and sound installation, was out of bound. I retreated the work with a cut down version and located it in the corner of the upstairs rehearsal room, further supported by a QR code accompanying the 2 artworks on show. The code is directing the visitors to my YouTube video which I hope they will view in their own time. The video is entitled 'Until we fall' and is a poem combining music with photos and live footage of nearby Royston beach. All the rubbish is depicted in the artworks or integrated into the installation. As part of my original plan, I added rubbish to the installation every day of the exhibition, similar to what happens to our shores.
Recycl-Age Art 2021 at granton:hub 9-11 July 2021 includes painters, printmakers, collage artists, illustrators, ceramicists, photographers, textile artists, jewellers, composers, poets and makers. Many artworks incorporate recycled elements. Some artists reflect on what recycling means to them, figuratively or conceptually.
With contributions from:
Marta Adamowicz – Elise Ashby – Anna Baran – Emily Brooks Millar Sandra Brown – Megan Chapman – Erin Colquhoun – Michael Dawson -- Gina Fierlafijn Reddie – Penny Forbes – Komachi Goto – David Gray Lorna Johnson – Jessica Kirkpatrick – Victor Nobis – Valerie O’Regan Abigail Osborne – Ludovica Perosin – Ian Reddie – Judith Shalor Jacqueline Thow – Mark Urban – Rosemary Walker – Bev Wright
This collage entitled Sanctuary I expresses my thoughts on shoreline, nature and the ubiquitous litter on our shores. Royston beach in Granton (Edinburgh) is the setting of this scene. My walk started with a feeling of joy, love, gratitude of beautiful scenery, reflection on good things and bad things in life. Nature is a powerful healer and brings positivity and strength in coping with our daily stresses. But then I noticed all the rubbish and my heart sank. What are we doing to our planet? What are we doing to our lives? How will our children children's cope? Our beaches are sanctuaries. We are all responsible. Will we have the power, and the love for our natural world, to restore nature? Only our love for this planet will make us come to our senses.
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Love will save me
from scattering
my troubled soul
But how will we save
our lives ahead?
We do not see
the blindfold
that we share
that I share
Will we know?
How will I know?
This sanctuary
I see you
ahead we run
until we fall
Will love save us?
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This collage is accompanied by a video poem. The images are framed by the soundtrack ‘Beacon’ produced by Edinburgh based musician and composer Harry Bongo. It captures my feeling of despair and sense of urgency. This video is my journey, the litter recorded in-situ and now framed for all of us to take notice. We need to take action, our future is at stake
other artworks
Adrift (Royston Beach)
in collaboration with Ian Reddie
Royston Shore
Ian has been producing abstract landscapes incorporating sand and marble dust (a waste product from sculptures) for many years.
Gina re-imagines these landscapes, combining elements of everyday experiences, including found objects on shorelines, urban and country walks. Objects are re-imagined, get a new life, become disconnected from previous existence and narratives.
About the exhibition
The Recycl-Age Art exhibition was selected as part of this Coastal Knowledge project and is included in the 2021 Edinburgh Science festival, offering artists a unique opportunity to showcase their work. Recycl-Age Art 2021 includes painters, printmakers, collage artists, ceramicists, illustrators, photographers, textile artists, jewellers, composers, poets and makers. Many artworks incorporate recycled elements, indeed several are made of 100% recycled and repurposed materials. Some artists reflect on what recycling means to them, figuratively or conceptually.
My next project! Organising the exhibition at granton:hub.... from the announcement:
granton:hub is pleased to announce that our community is now included in the ‘Coastal Knowledge’ project funded by the RSE Young Academy Scotland and led by Dr Niki Vermeulen (University of Edinburgh) celebrating Scotland’s (prolonged) year of coast and waters. As a coastal community, Granton plays a part in developing diverse forms of knowledge about the coast and experiences that people have living and working on the coast.
The Recycl-Age Art exhibition has been selected as part of this Coastal Knowledge project and will now be included in the Edinburgh Science Festival offering artists a unique opportunity to showcase their work.
The exhibition will take place on the 9th, 10th and 11th of July 2021, subject to COVID restrictions.
Recycl-Age Art is open to painters, printmakers, photographers, textile artists, ceramicists, jewellers, composers, poets, new media artists. We welcome artworks that: (1) incorporate recycled elements (2) may entirely be made up of recycled materials (3) reflect on what recycling means or represents, either figuratively or conceptually. For example, how waste affects our environments; plastic pollution affecting wildlife in marine environments and shorelines; what innovation can offer as a solution to the recycling challenges.
To enter please send an e-mail to artingranton@grantonhub.org and include the artwork’s title, one image, the price and full dimensions by the deadline of 16 May 2021.
