Molly Reid, a student on the MFA Curatorial Practice at DJCAD, talks about her current exhibition in the Tower Foyer.
Hello, my name is Molly, and I am student on the MFA Curatorial Practice course at DJCAD. For the last two months of the course, I have been on placement within the University’s Museum Collections. During this time, I was given the opportunity to curate an exhibition based solely on black and white art held in the collections. It was an exciting chance to put all that I have learned during the course into practice and curate my first solo exhibition.
My curatorial interest lies in storytelling. Putting together this exhibition I found beautiful works to include in the exhibition that tell individual stories. Some artworks have stories about how or why they were made, others encourage the viewer to form their own stories based on personal memory or from imagination, while others (like the comics artwork) were made to tell a specific story.
Sir John Steell sculpted the bust of his daughter Little Jeanie after she died aged just five years old. For me, I found this to be not only a visually stunning work but also emotionally engaging. The circumstances in which it was created add a depth of feeling – when I view it it triggers memories of people I have lost. Could I replicate their features in the way he has? Absolutely not. I can’t even begin to imagine how it would feel attempting that. Was creating this sculpture the artist’s way of processing the loss? We will never know. But these lines of thought definitely enrich the story of this sculpture.
This work by Alexander Allan is the star of the show as far as I am concerned. Using scraperboard, Allan has managed to manifest a strong sense of alertness that can only be found in dogs. We all know that look, when their heads pop up, their ears raise and their eyes are laser-focused on whatever has caught their attention. It triggers memories of my late Alfie, a Border Terrier, who would get that exact look. Whether it was because he was about to dive into a nettle filled ditch to get a discarded fish supper, or he had heard the fridge door open, or just heard his name being called. These memories bring me great joy and I am grateful this work of art recalls them.
This work of art by Bob Bain is beautifully surreal. Someone could be inspired to write a book set in the world that the artist has created. The layers of detail and monotone colour palette open so many questions and give no answers. Who are the people hiding in the leaves? Are they sinister or afraid? Maybe it is the fish that are the danger. Why is there someone in every window of the buildings in the background? Are they frightened or just interested onlookers? What significance do the central pair of birds hold? I am not certain I want the answers as the speculation is such fun. Spirit of the Wood builds worlds in my head and that is truly wonderful.
You can see these and many more pieces in the exhibition Colour-Less, on display in the Tower Foyer Gallery until 28 September.