Gina Fierlafijn Reddie @giraf87

8 Dec 2019

Down the Wire - installation

This installation was on show during the Art in Granton exhibition on 25, 26 and 27 October 2019. It was site-specific created in the staircase of Madelvic House which used to be the office building of the Madelvic Electric Car Factory and, afterwards, United Wire. The listed factory next door is now increasingly under threat, boarded up and awaiting an uncertain future. I set up this AV installation to draw attention for planners and council representatives, to take action and come up with plans for this building, and the Gasworks Holder number 1, just down the road. Both are on the 'At Risk' National Register of Buildings. The discarded building materials, the rolled wire, the bricks and wood left behind, the blown in autumn leaves all refer symbolically to under-realised development plans for this fantastic heritage building. The music by Edinburgh artist Harry Bongo creates an atmosphere of emergency, with the crescendo of subtle tones, rising into a tempo of despair and urgency. The video entitled 'Down to the Wire' is also available for viewing and represents the audiovideo interpretation of a walk down Granton, featuring the three mixed media paintings:
Granton Gasworks Holder number 1
The Works and
Forthquarter

All are available for sale, e-mail giraf87projects@gmail.com

14 Oct 2019

Down to the Wire - video

Art in Granton exhibition

25, 26 and 27 October 2019

A video with music from Harry Bongo is part of the exhibition

‘Down to the Wire’ is a film about the sensory experiencing of an everyday landscape. The assemblage of photography, mixed media paintings and music evokes urban encounters, reiterated, and representing the multiplicities of a walk.

Granton Gasworks is a well-known local landmark and even a navigator for ships in the Firth of Forth. Lesser known is the Madelvic Motorworks factory, now in a derelict condition, hidden, and its fascinating story of producing electric cars in 1898 is almost forgotten. Both structures are on the ‘at risk register’ of Buildings in Scotland, and on the ‘Listed’ buildings of the national register.

Gina Fierlafijn Reddie produced this intimate visual experience incorporating the use of metal wire and nails to remind the viewer of the rich industrial heritage of these sites. The fragility of the artefacts symbolises the fragility of the buildings. The wires remind us how industry had a grip on these urban sites, holding it in place [at first enveloping] but now also delicately securing their presence and memories, before potential collapse. The music creates an atmosphere of emergency, with the crescendo of subtle tones, rising into a tempo of despair and urgency.

There is no time to waste and developers and planners must, after years of uncertainty, come up with proposals for both buildings that will suit the expanding Granton community.

The paintings featuring in the video are displayed below. They are based on a collaboration with artist Ian Reddie.