DAVID FAITHFULL
EARTH, WIND & FISSION
Until 25 May 2013
The
current exhibition at Peter Potter Gallery strikes a curious chord with the
recent death of Margaret Thatcher. With
Thatcher finally laid to rest, these icons of the Industrial Power game seem
even more potent, particularly in East Lothian where the landscape and economy
have been shaped by the power industries. At the heart of the exhibition a
simple metaphor is used to explore the dynamics of power. The familiar childhood game
of Rock, Scissors, Paper is an
illustration of the intrinsic power and energy of materials. One object can
conquer another through its core properties and thus the game stands for
elemental power dynamics. David Faithfull has used this dynamic as the basis
for this exhibition, which creates a narrative around the history and future of
'power production' in East Lothian.
The local landscape is shaped by the ways in which we harvest and harness natural
resources. Artist David Faithfull writes:
“The vast architectural xenolith of Cockenzie, with its two
dark-tipped towers, the sentinels of the Forth, counterbalance the bunkered
chasms of decaying radioactive core along the coast at Torness. And the
contentious wind turbines of Aikengall? To some, these turn with the serenity
of Zephyrus, to others they are the grindings of a fiendish visual dystopia”
From farming and mining to ancient
settlements and estates; the rural landscape has been shaped by the history of
human occupation. It is these rural landscapes that have also supported the
vital production of energy that fuels our homes. Locally this has included coal
mining at Cockenzie, nuclear power at Torness and wind farms like
Aikengall. Power production has also been a primary source of employment
in rural communities around the Lothians. From mining to nuclear and now the
wind farms, these landscapes have been shaped, scarred, enhanced and
transformed by the power industries. The economy of power takes on a different
meaning in the context of the relatively low paid work which has sustained
local communities and at times cost people dearly, particularly resonant now
with the recent closing of Cockenzie Power Station and the death of the miners'
nemesis, Margaret Thatcher.
FROM COAL MINES TO WIND FARMS
In front of a surreal and expansive photograph
taken near Aikengall Wind Farm, three sculptures rest on plinths. The first is
a laser carving in cannel coal, which was one of the historic
bi-products of the mining industry. This hard bituminous material was
traditionally carved by miners into furniture and decorative items in British
mining regions, particularly in Fife and the Lothians. The form of a pair of
scissors has been laser-cut into the smoothed surface. The second sculpture is
a paper cast in the form of stone fragment and the final sculpture is a sheet
of ruled paper created from etched and pierced steel. This group of sculptures
play on the material values of the objects and their individual currency within
the Rock, Paper, Scissors game. There is a subtle interplay in Faithfull’s work between the aesthetic and poetic qualities
of the power-driven landscape and the real social and economic issues, which
create it. One could read this project in the broader context of Scotland’s industrial heritage and the Enlightenment values
which underscore it, exploring our contributions to engineering and industry
and the cultural and material legacy it has created.
SUBTERRANEAN LANDSCAPE
In an alcove in the gallery space, Faithfull has
painted a view of a coal mine, with wooden struts or pit props supporting the
claustrophobic ceiling. Faithfull’s intuitive style of painting has the formal
qualities of Aboriginal art, a sinuous and rhythmic approach. The space offers
an exciting den for younger visitors to explore and also stands as a graphic
record of the enclosed and dangerous environment in which generations of East
Lothian men and boys earned their living.
THE FRUIT MACHINE: GAMBLING WITH POWER
Nearby there is adapted arcade fruit machine;
Instead of cherries, watermelons and plums; the dials have been altered to
comprise of the icons from the traditional playground game, depicting the piece
of rock, the sheet of paper and the pair of scissors. The ‘player’ in this instance does not gamble with his own
money, but uses supplied out of circulation coins (old large 5p’s). As well avoiding any gaming licensing this
negates any payouts. With this interaction the viewer is asked to consider the
strengths and weaknesses, the pros and cons between all the existing and
proposed power sources of the past, present and future; indeed who can ever
really win the Energy Game?
The fruit machine in itself creates an interesting
parallel between the environment of the public house, where leisure time and
wages were often spent, and the energy industries that paid many of the
workforce. Like the payouts from the one-armed bandit, the huge profits reaped
by the large corporations are not transferred to the workers or the
communities. As industries change, jobs vanish, the legacy of these are seen
all over Scotland, in the fact that many ex-coalfields communities are now on
the Scottish Index of Areas of Multiple Deprivation. This fruit machine, like
any gambling machine, is based entirely on chance and chance like the goddess
of fortune, is double-faced.
With each play combination on the fruit machine,
the viewer/participant is invited to record their particular combination with 3
corresponding rubber stamps on a supplied postcard to take as a souvenir. This
is accompanied by a corresponding interactive wallpaper piece on the wall
behind, where the participant again stamps their individual combination. Over
the duration of the exhibition, the wall will get blacker, denser and darker
with all the ink impressions made. Indeed the ink used from the stamp will
comprise of carbon-based ink, reflecting the greater global environmental
carbon footprints that we all make. There is a smaller version of this game for
younger visitors.
THE MONUMENT PROJECT AT PPG
This project is part of the Peter Potter Gallery’s Monument Project, a year’s programme dedicated to the contemporary artist’s engagement with history, and it concludes three
archaeology projects, four exhibitions and an extensive education programme. We
receive 35,000 visitors per annum and we also have an unusually extensive
education programme for an organisation our size, working directly with more
than 2000 individuals per annum. We believe that engagement should be as
important to contemporary arts organisations as the production of exhibitions.
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