Are you LOCATIONALIZED is a major new body of work by Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan commissioned by the Isle of Skye’s ATLAS Arts for GENERATION: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland. The project gets a preview in Glasgow this Friday at KELSEN Technical – where the larger of the two sculptures has been constructed – before travelling to venues on the Isles of Skye and North Uist.
“Are you LOCATIONALIZED is a huge and complex project for Tatham and O’Sullivan in terms of its geographical spread and the artists’ conceptual approach to place,” explains Emma Nicolson, Director of ATLAS Arts. “The commission highlights points of reference around the two islands and explores the sites’ historical and cultural contexts. We decided on a soft launch in Glasgow to allow audiences in the central belt to see work they might not otherwise get to see.”
The artwork will take over multiple sites on the Hebridean islands between August and October 2014, and is part of ATLAS Arts’ Broad Reach curatorial residency with Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre on North Uist – a two-year exhibition and public programming partnership exploring new curatorial approaches and audience development.
Photographs surveying examples of public sculpture on North Uist, as well as the campus of Loughborough University, will be exhibited at Taigh Chearsabhagh and the ATLAS Arts office in Portree, Skye. While two outdoor structures – examples of the artists’ signature large-scale and brightly coloured forms exploring notions of access, conservation and historical-cultural value – will be erected on sites across the two islands: The Apothecary’s Tower on Meall na h-Acairseid hill in Portree harbour, where Skye’s Highland Games take place; and the gable end of the former dairy adjacent to Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre, Lochmaddy, North Uist.
Nicolson explains: “We want to demonstrate that a critical approach to contemporary art can occur in areas considered geographically remote from the urbanised centres of Scotland. The work will engage both local and new visitors to the area and we expect its presence will generate a forum for debate and curiosity in the local environment.”
For information on the ATLAS public programme and special events visit atlasarts.org.uk
