Glasgow artist collective The Mutual showcases work
Calum Thom, Tawny Kerr, Ralph Mackenzie and Richard Davies
The Mutual artist collective was formed in 2009 by four Glasgow School of Art Fine Art graduates in an attempt to stave off postgraduate malaise. Two years later, with a 200-strong member base, they have invited their artists to participate in a month-long residency running up to an exhibition at the Glue Factory.
Artists have responded to the building’s distinctive dingy features by occupying nooks and crannies, claiming paint chipping from the walls, juxtaposing fragile collage against textured brickwork, and hanging mobiles from the ceiling. Underneath the chaotic surface, there is an orderly undercurrent that demonstrates a well-organised show. Negotiation for use of the space started well in advance of other recent shows at the factory.
Highlights include Calum Thom’s installation ‘Super Future Nazi II: Revenge of the Taliban’; Tawny Kerr’s shadow play with ‘Divining rods converge upon a false positive’; and waving a flag for the orange race is Ralph Mackenzie’s print entitled ‘Glasgow Tan: 33 Salons’.
But it is the more considered site-specific works that excel here. Towering above you in an enclosed space is Richard Davies’ ‘Erotic Chimera’, a fluffy white guillotine with rotating disco ball, its dissonant qualities equally alluring and repelling. Projected back onto the wall where it was filmed is ‘Blue Yemanja’, a beautiful multi-layered animation by Jenny Baynes based on the Brazilian goddess of the sea. Employing archetypal symbols and bodies in the nude, only an artist worthy of her trade would embrace the icy conditions of the derelict factory in December.
Glue Factory, Glasgow, until Sat 18 Dec 2010