22 May 2011

Water, water everywhere...

Image shows Holly standing by her exhibit with a map of the area once served by the Scouring Burn.

A 12m2 water-filled pool representing Dundee’s Scouring Burn is the centrepiece of an exhibit at this year’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Degree Show.

The theme of Holly Keasey’s work is ‘reflections’, and both physical and cerebral reflections feature in the exhibition.

The pool, complete with a floating artist book, is surrounded on two sides by brilliant white walls. A window on a third side throws light on the water which then reflects upon the wall opposite and reveals frosted glass writing. To the side of the pool is a ‘study room’ created by Holly featuring a mini library of books about Dundee, a map of the area, and other items related to the city.

Although 23-year-old Holly is originally from Yorkshire, she immersed herself into history and culture of her adopted hometown after moving north to study Art, Philosophy and Contemporary Practice at DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee, four years ago.

She was struck by how the city’s development has always been driven by its proximity to water. The factories of the Blackness area, which drove the growth of Dundee’s textiles industry, developed along the Scouring Burn. Once providing a natural power source for the mills, the burn now runs underground on a line from Polepark to Guthrie Street.

The present-day multi-million pound waterfront regeneration project and efforts to make Dundee one of the drivers of the renewables industry in Scotland are the latest examples of the city’s dependency on its waterways, which also helped it establish itself as a trading centre and create a shipbuilding industry.

Sound features heavily in Holly’s exhibit, and the poolside scene is soundtracked by a poem written by local street poet Kevin McCabe, reproduced as a songline by Jason Rees, and sung by the Dundee Rep women’s choir. The study room is filled with dialogue from Kevin McCabe and Professor Rob Duck, from the University’s geography department, who talk about the Tay and its importance to Dundee.

'Water is certainly the elixir of Dundee’s life, and I wanted to capture that in my Degree Show piece,' said Holly. 'Water has always been crucial to the city’s wellbeing, and it continues to be the case when you look at the plans for the waterfront development.

'The Scouring Burn was absolutely vital to the development of Dundee’s industry. It provided power for the mills which were built around it. It still runs underground in the Blackness area, and we will walk the course, with the women from the Rep singing the song as we do so, later this year.

'I do a lot of performance work out and about in Dundee. This is how I came into contact with the singing group, Kevin and other people from D-AIR – Dundee Artists in Residence. For me, it was important to collaborate with groups from across the city and develop a sense of community within my work.

'I have built decking and a bench for anyone to have a seat and relax by the pool, and the wood was provided by the Forestry Department at Camperdown Park. It was important that everything used was as local as possible.

'The key theme of the work is reflection, and to invite the viewer to reflect on issues and to think about Dundee and its relationship with the water, which is explored in the reading material in the study room. Both the pool and the room raise different ideas of reflection.

'The frosted glass text only really becomes visible when light reflects off the water, which symbolises the subtlety of the importance of water that often goes unnoticed. Film of various performance work I’ve done in Dundee will also be shown in the study room.'

Contradiction features heavily in Holly’s work. Whilst the pool and its surroundings are minimalist in terms of décor, it is packed full of detail and symbolism. The issues that Holly asks people to reflect upon may at first appear to be local but in fact relate to grand, global questions about the relationship between man and nature.

'Philosophy is important to my work,' added Holly. 'I want people to think about the issues I’m raising but at the same time there’s a playful element – people are welcome to go for a paddle. I’ve done a lot of work in building the whole pool area, including the decking and bench, and I definitely think I could do up my house now!'

Notes to editors:

Dundee Degree Show
21st - 29th May 2011 (Preview May 20th)

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
University of Dundee
13 Perth Road
Dundee DD1 4HT
T 01382 385330
E exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk
www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/degreeshow

Exhibition open:
Saturday, May 21st (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 22nd (10am-4pm)
Monday, May 23rd (10am-8pm)
Tuesday, May 24th (10am-8pm)
Wednesday, May 25th (10am-8pm)
Thursday, May 26th (10am-8pm)
Friday, May 27th (10am-8pm)
Saturday, May 28th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 29th (10am-4pm)

Graduate work on display:
Animation
Art, Philosophy, Contemporary Practices
Digital Interaction Design
Fine Art
Graphic Design
Illustration
Interior Environmental Design
Jewellery & Metal Design
Product Design
Textile Design
Time Based Art & Digital Film

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277