anam creative: eco collab
online exhibition
Intro
anam creative: eco collab is a two part project that commissioned 12 emerging musicians and artists based in glasgow to create work inspired by the scottish environment.
part one commissioned musicians rose logan, joe weisberg, adam strachan and jacob reid and artists annie donaldson and josie ko to develop work exploring land.
part two commissioned musicians ruby allen, rory green and fraser macbeath and artists shanine gallagher, dawn kelso and douglas tyrrell bunge to develop work exploring water.
the online exhibition features select responsive and collaborative works from the project, curated by the anam creative team.
This project is generously supported by Creative Scotland.
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'water' and 'land' moving image works
'land', select works
In their collaborative exploration of woodlands, Rose and Jacob delved into the intricate communication networks of trees within forest ecosystems. Inspired by the complex mycelium connections that allow nutrient transfer, Rose intertwined scientific exploration with her interests in Scottish woodland folklore. Drawing upon this research, the duo met at Jacob's place to jam and experiment with their ideas. Through improvisation, they discovered surprising and unplanned moments, recording their collaboration in an hour long session. Jacob later edited, arranged and produced the emerging composition from this recording, resulting in a unique layering of sound.
'Annies Process' by Joe Weisberg is a track inspired by the emotions of repetitive art-making processes. Weisberg envisions Annie's creative stages chronologically, from gorse picking to dyeing and sewing the fabrics together. The composition, serving as a sonic backdrop to Annie's process, incorporates loops to capture the feeling of repetitiveness and the contrasting sensations of spikiness and sweet, coconutty scents. Weisberg aims for a relaxed and introspective yet whiny/deflated atmosphere, mirroring the ambiguous emotions associated with occasionally frustrating creative tasks. The composition is a reflection on the intricate and varied layers of artistic creation.
"This idea comes from cycling in the centre of Glasgow during rush hour. I wanted the song to feel like a modern-day mini cowboy journey. Navigating the construction works, dodging buses, grunts, sweat, keys jangling, spokes turning. The not so open road... I left space for melodies, vocals, solos or anything in between." - Joe Weisberg
natural dyeing session, led by annie donaldson
'Lady in Blue' by Josie KO
Moving away from sculpture, in this work Josie has returned to working two dimensionally to create this oil painting of an imagined figure amongst a vibrant and flourishing landscape. Making this piece over the duration of her time at anam, Josie took conversations and ideas generated amongst other artist in her anam cohort into this work specifically focusing on including a strong use of layering materials, (oil pastels, paints and colouring pencils) inspired by the layering of the soil. This piece captures the black body joyfully within nature and reflects on her personal new embrace of working within the natural Scottish environment.
'water' select works
'Us; Ours' by Dawn Kelso
‘Us; Ours’ is an investigation into the relationship we have with our river; a meditation on place through gathering. Here, we are offered stories - our stories. Stories of us; then and now; past, present, and future.
Considering the urban river as a huge, centuries deep bin, 100 objects were taken from the foreshore of the Clyde, exploring Glasgow’s history and culture through a collection of our old bits and pieces.
‘Us; Ours’ is a place where the political, existential and deeply personal collide, leaving us with an honest depiction of who we are and how we live. Most importantly, it poses a core, essential question:
What do we learn about ourselves through the traces which we leave behind?
Rory Green's 'Silt Memory' is a synaesthetic response to Dawn Kelso's found objects, translating touch into auditory experiences. Green explores the tactile textures through sound, delving into how sounds convey sensations like dryness, wetness, sharpness, warmth, and coldness. Embracing the concept of "qualia," (a term that philosophers use to describe the nature, or content, of our subjective experiences) Green links auditory stimuli to our senses. Additionally, Green incorporates emotional qualities tied to sound, evoking pleasure, pain, nostalgia, fear, and more. 'Silt Memory' offers a nuanced, multi-sensory journey, inviting viewers to interpret the visual realm through the intricate interplay of auditory and emotional stimuli.
'Petrichor' by Shanine Gallagher, Rory Green and Ruby Allen
'land' and 'water' select music works
Written, composed and played by Ruby Allen with narration by Joanne lee.
This is a short story where each element of the earth, sky, stars, water and the people, human and other, that move through them are represented by a sound. It is a piece inspired by the folklore of the Scottish Asrai, often described as small translucent loch dwellers or ‘sea ghosts’ that burst into cool pools of water on exposure to the sun. Part folklore, part invention or retelling of a story i couldn’t seem to find, this is a mini sonic adaptation of an imagined (and therefore real) encounter at a loch side, the above place, the below place and the heart of a loch.
"This piece was inspired by pools of water running down underground train tracks, prompting thoughts on where rivers can form and the struggles of natural elements existing within industrial environments. It's made mostly from old clock chimes being banged, bowed, struck and plucked." - Fraser MacBeath