The Glasgow Art Club

Thursday 10th April 2008 - Sunday 27th April 2008

Exhibition - Society of Bondage - Jonathan Scott

An exhibition by Jonathan Scott at the Glasgow Art Club. 10th-27th April 2008. Mon-Sat, 12 - 5pm. Preview Thurs 10th April 8-10pm

A new site-specific installation of monumental sculptures that address notions of protest, belief and restriction. Combining the intimacy of drawing with the hard boundary of industrial fencing these caged structures reflect on the complexity of an antagonistic society.

Glasgow-based artist Jonathan Scott explores the complex relationships between people and their environments: how we adapt to and are managed by the man-made infrastructures that define social space. Scott responds to the inner-city landscape as both physical entity and ideological space, exposing the narrative significance of everyday urban detritus. Taking his cue from literary descriptions of the city (think J G Ballard’s dystopic metropoli and Iain Sinclair’s uncanny guides), he formulates his own abject narration within large-scale installations incorporating the drawing and sculptural elements of his practice. “Society of Bondage” is a new site-specific installation of monumental sculptures that address notions of protest, belief and restriction. Combining the intimacy of drawing with the hard boundary of industrial fencing these caged structures reflect on the complexity of an antagonistic society.

The exhibition will be three large-scale sculptures of coloured steel cages (3’x6’x9’). Suspended within each cage is a double-sided gilded-edged panel. One side of the panel has a drawing of figures, the other contains spray-painted texts from memorial sources. The materiality of the work echoes its concerns with individual actions and public devices of delimitation. The intended question being, what value do we give to acts that can be perceived as antagonistic and in what way do the structures that surround us facilitate or repress those actions.

To be able to realise this work in the Glasgow Art Club is a poignant part of this exhibition, as, not only is it contextually in key with the works concept but also with the concerns of public verses private, the theme of the coinciding Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Arts programme.

The Glasgow Art Club is situated on Bath Street in the heart of the city centre, close to the CCA and the Glasgow School of Art, and is considered one of Glasgow’s best kept secrets. The Art Club was founded in 1867 but in its present home since 1892. The A-listed building at 185 Bath Street is steeped in the history of Scottish art, design and architecture. Currently the club is going through a dynamic period of modernization, having agreed on a constitutional development to charitable status. And, with the first exhibition of this kind opens itself to a diverse audience. The lavish surroundings provide an apt venue for many cultural events and for the Glasgow International is providing an exclusive look behind the doors of an age old Glasgow institution rarely seen by the public.

Glasgow Art Club
185 Bath Street
GLASGOW
G2 4HU
Tel: 0141 248 5210