Henry Moore Fellow

Nathan Coley, artist in residence during the Lockerbie trial at Camp Zeist has been appointed as the Henry Moore fellow in sculpture in the school of fine art.

The University is one of the first in the UK to merit the appointment of two Henry Moore fellows back to back but the foundation was so impressed by the success of the previous residency arrangement with Simon Starling that they awarded Duncan of Jordanstone another two year fellowship.

Nathan's work deals with the built environment and our relationship with it. At the Lockerbie trial at Camp Ziest Nathan was observing how a designated space in Holland could suddenly some under Scottish jurisdiction but the other side of the fence remain Dutch. He talks about meeting a policeman from Paisley at the gates of the compound and the conflict of power and jurisdiction.

One of Nathan's most recent works - Urban Sanctuary - is a publication of responses to the question - what should a sanctuary be? There was no consensus about what the sanctuary might be nor was one sought. In the context of this work the notion of sanctuary became a kind of positive Room 101 - a space which is understood as something different and particular by each of the participants. The project raised questions about what architecture is for, what basic needs people have and how those needs change over time.

As everyone's views on it differed, it became obvious not to build anything. The resulting public artwork became the publication of interviews with a range of people; a Feng Shui consultant and the Chief Super Intentent of Lothian and Borders Police.

Nathan Coley was awarded a Creative Scotland award last year and will be using it to investigate constructed urban space, humans' relationships with the environment and how we live in cities. Over the next two years he will undertake research into a number of locations including Edinburgh's New Town and Rannoch Moor, Los Angeles and Death Valley and Rotterdam and the reclaimed wilderness of the Zeiderzee.

Now based in Dundee, Nathan has exhibited worldwide and was recently featured in the major survey show "Here and Now". He delivered his inaugural lecture as Henry Moore fellow in DCA this month to an interested student and public audience. The lecture explained the processes and relationships involved in his ambitious projects which consider the social and aesthetic value of the built environment.

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