‘Jacobites by Name’ – new Calum Colvin exhibition to open at Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Published On Wed 11 Nov 2015 by Grant Hill
The University of Dundee’s Calum Colvin, one of Scotland’s leading contemporary artists, explores the visual imagery and legacy of the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745 in a new exhibition opening at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery this week.
‘Jacobites by Name’ is one of two new exhibitions marking the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Jacobite Rising. It and ‘Rise and Fall: The Earl of Mar and the 1715 Jacobite Rising’ will be on display at the Gallery from Saturday, 14th November.
A key player in the rising, John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, is the focus of ‘Rise and Fall’, while the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s outstanding Jacobite collection has been used to inspire ‘Jacobites by Name’, which combines photography with painting and installation.
Calum Colvin, Professor of Fine Art Photography at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, part of the University, has produced several new works for the exhibition. These include ‘Lochaber no More’, which links two images of Charles Edward Stuart, the second Jacobite pretender to the throne and instigator of the failed 1745 Jacobite Rising. The first of the images shows Charles as a young man and the other much older.
Professor Colvin said, “This new body of work investigates the traces of Jacobite material culture, portraiture and visual illusion to be found in Scottish museums up and down the country.
“I wanted to take a fresh look at this material with a view to re-interpret the matrix of symbols and allusions that they carry and, through a range of different types of contemporary making, bring them into the digital age. The works are contrasted with the existing collection in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and question the role of this familiar iconography in Scottish national culture.”
In his work, Professor Colvin also alludes to the tradition of secret symbolism and optical illusionism in Jacobite-related art. As support for the exiled Stuarts could lead to accusations of disloyalty to the Crown, ‘secret’ portraits of the Pretenders were to be discovered on folded fans, sewn discreetly onto articles of clothing, or concealed inside the lid of a closed box.
Professor Colvin has exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States and has worked on commissions for the National Galleries of Scotland.
Christopher Baker, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, said, “The Jacobite struggle remains potent and romantic 300 years after the key events that defined it. These complementary displays connect powerful portraiture of the 18th century with contemporary responses, and remind us in an engaging and inspiring way of a turbulent period in Scottish history.”
The exhibition has been made possible with support from the National Trust for Scotland and the Leverhulme Trust.
‘Jacobites by Name’ and ‘Rise and Fall: The Earl of Mar and the 1715 Jacobite Rising’ will be on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Queen Street, Edinburgh, from 14th November until 27th March next year.
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