14 August 2013
Artist tunnels into Dundee's past for Masters Show
Image shows part of Deirdre's exhibition. The Law Tunnel Line Walk takes place from law car park at 6pm on Thursday, 15th August.
An exploration of Dundee's largely forgotten Law Tunnel, created as a tribute to one of the city's greatest sons, is not
only one of the highlights of this year's Masters Show at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), but could
also help to bring about the re-opening of the near-200-year-old tunnel as a tourist attraction.
Deirdre Robertson is one of 34 artists and designers on masters courses at DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee.
Her interest in the Law Tunnel - originally built in 1831 as a railway tunnel and later used as a mushroom factory and air
raid shelter - arose from a chance remark made by her mother.
Deirdre's extensive research into the history of the tunnel is the focus of her exhibit, with the main installation
paying homage to the botanist Sir Patrick Geddes, a pioneer of the Green movement and modern day town planning.
In 1907, Geddes drew up plans for the tunnel as a fernery, along with elaborate plans for the surrounding area, to be
called Law Park Way.
References to Geddes are found throughout Deirdre's work, which also features an animation, a living fern wall, a
mushroom ladder, three large panels of archival images, a poem by Don Paterson, a catalogue detailing the tunnel's history,
and soft cushions printed with maps and images of the Law and surrounding area.
She will also participate in a number of talks and related events throughout the Masters Show run, beginning with a
Law Tunnel Line Walk on Thursday, 15th August. The event has been organised by Dundee Council's Leisure Trust, who have
submitted a Lottery Funding application of £400,000 to improve the area.
This show launches the start of a three-stage project about the tunnel which aims to obtain archival footage to
incorporate within a new heritage walk, review the feasibility of opening the tunnel temporarily for a one-off access and
performance event, and explore whether it can be re-opened permanently as a tourist attraction.
Deirdre's study was included as a 'project in development' in the first round of Dundee's UK City of Culture bid,
and it is hoped phase 1 will be completed by the end of this year.
'This all started when I was having coffee with my mother and her friend and they started talking about how there used to
be a tunnel that went through the Law,' explained Deirdre. 'This seemed like news to me and so I started doing some research
and found out all about it, and about the work of Patrick Geddes.
'Then, when speaking to my older cousins I found that I had known about the tunnel as a child and, in fact, we used to go
looking for it up the Law. The fact I had known about the Law Tunnel but had forgotten about it seemed representative of the
city itself so I have tried to raise awareness and see if this part of our heritage can play a role in our future.'
Deirdre began her Master of Fine Art course at DJCAD in 2010 before taking a two-year break when she was headhunted for
the role of Chief Operating Officer at the Tate. A former board member at Dundee Contemporary Arts and current board
member at Craft Scotland, she returned to her home city to complete her postgraduate degree last year. Her practice
focuses on place, community and heritage and explores action through collaboration with other artists.
The tunnel through the Law, the 570-ft extinct volcano that towers over Dundee, opened as part of the Dundee-Newtyle
Railway in 1831. It closed in 1861 when the line deviated via Lochee only to be reopened by the Scottish Mushroom Company
for growing purposes in 1898. The company went into voluntary liquidation in 1902, five years before Geddes submitted
his ambitious plans. It was converted to an air-raid shelter during World War II before both ends were blocked off in
the 1980s.
Multiple international award-winning Dundee poet Don Paterson will perform a reading of his poem "Law Tunnel:
leased to the Scottish Mushroom Factory after its closure in 1927" to mark Deirdre's exhibition, while the University's
Curator of Museums Services, Matthew Jarron, will give a short talk about Sir Patrick Geddes and his plans for the Fernery
along with Professor Mary Gibbon, Fern expert from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh on Tuesday 27th August 12.30pm - 2pm.
Students from DJCAD will exhibit the fruits of their labours on some of the UK's most innovative and exciting postgraduate
courses when work from five Masters programmes - Animation & Visualisation, Art & Humanities, Fine Art,
Forensic Art and Medical Art 'goes on display from August 16th-24th.
Jeanette Paul, Acting Dean of DJCAD, said, 'Creativity, imagination and innovation are the key characteristics required
of postgraduates as they create stimulating work informed by the intelligent research they carry out.
'The end result is a series of thought-provoking exhibits that demonstrate how our students have built on their
undergraduate learning to develop their work to a new level or in a different direction. They only have 12 months to
complete their Masters, and so must work extremely hard throughout the year.'
The Masters Show celebrations will begin with a special, invite-only Preview Evening on Friday, 16th August.
It will remain open until Saturday, 24th August. The exhibition is open from 10am-8pm on weekdays and
from 10am-4pm at weekends.
More information about all the exhibiting graduates is available by calling 01382 388828, emailing
DJCAD@dundee.ac.uk, or by visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/mastersshow.
The Master of Fine Art and MFA Art & Humanities Shows will also be open from 28 August to 31
August to coincide with the Impact8 Printmaking Conference. Please see
www.conf.dundee.ac.uk/impact8/home/.
Notes to editors:
DJCAD Masters Show 2013
Work on Display from students in:
MSc Animation & Visualisation
Master of Fine Art
MFA Art & Humanities
MSc Forensic Art
MSc Medical Art
Exhibition Preview
Friday, August 16th, 6-9pm
Exhibition Continues
17th-24th August
Opening Times
Monday - Friday
Open from 10am - 8pm
Saturday & Sunday
Open from 10am - 4pm
Location
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
University of Dundee
13 Perth Road, Exhibitions Entrance
Dundee DD1 4HT
Contact
djcad@dundee.ac.uk.
Website
www.dundee.ac.uk/mastersshow.
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 |
