Notions of ‘thingness’ to be explored during Cooper Gallery’s summer residency

Published On Fri 3 Jul 2015 by Grant Hill

Art and philosophy will come together to consider the concept of ‘thingness’ at this year’s Summer Residency at the University of Dundee’s Cooper Gallery.

Artists Oliver Braid and Anouchka Oler and philosopher Jospeh Fletcher will take up residence at the gallery in Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design from Monday 6th to Friday 31st July.

Glasgow-based Braid and Lyon-based Oler both investigate ‘Object-Oriented Ontology’ in their practice and each will consider this philosophical phenomenon during their stay. Joining them will be Edinburgh based philosopher Joseph Fletcher whose purpose will be to place reflexivity at the heart of the residency. The work developed during their residency will be presented in an exhibition at Cooper Gallery in September.

Curator Sophia Hao said, “We are very excited to be bringing together these two artists with a philosopher to explore ‘thingness’ during this year’s Cooper Summer Residency. Braid’s practice explores definitions of objects, from their objecthood to their subsequent social application while Oler’s work often starts with materiality – the thingness of functionless forms, the materiality of language. 

“Our residencies provide a space for artists, writers and thinkers to reflect upon and experiment with new ideas that will extend their practice, as well as providing social and discursive situations that are attended by the public. Fletcher is a practice-based PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh. His work is concerned with writing and developing an ontological reading of community.”

Oliver Braid’s art works and curated projects are influenced by an aleatoric sensibility uncovered under popular 21st century thinking. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art, Braid has presented solo exhibitions and projects throughout the UK at esteemed galleries including CCA Glasgow, Collective Gallery in Edinburgh and the Royal Standard in Liverpool. 

Anoucka Oler leads a live investigation of what objects and sculptures communicate in a non-linguistic manner, and what makes us sensitive to them, frequently performing as characters set into narratives, sculptures and objects within her time-based pieces. 

She is currently enrolled in the postgraduate programme at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. She has shown her work throughout Europe and Internationally at galleries including AiR-Jakobstad in Finland, Kolnischer Kunstverein in Germany and Present Works in Milwaukee, USA. Her participation in Cooper Summer Residency is supported by FLUXUS Art Projects.

The gallery will host weekly Cooper Summer Salons each Wednesday lunchtime (12.30-1.30pm) during the residency. These events provide an interactive element, with conversations between artists and audiences amplifying the thinking and making taking place throughout the residency.

More information is available at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/exhibitions/exhibitions/cooper-summer-residency-2015/.

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Grant Hill
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