26 January 2006

Seasonal Affected Disorder Exhibition - S.A.D

Preview 27 January 5pm - 7pm

Inspired by its seasonal slot and character of the hosting gallery, this exhibition aims to overcome the ‘winter blues’. By using art to evoke optimism, by highlighting beauty in the everyday and creating happiness through visual delight, the space will become a place where even the strongest feelings of seasonal depression can be combated. Two young emerging artists have been asked to tackle the challenges presented - Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design MFA graduate Valerie Norris and Edinburgh College of Art graduate Juliana Capes.

Both artists have an ability to see all beauties in their surroundings where most people find it difficult. Both work to produce alchemy from humble materials, often non-traditional media, such as post it notes and fake flowers thus finding inspiration in unexpected objects, places and processes.

Capes and Norris’s work has spontaneity and it conveys a very direct enjoyment of making for both themselves and the audience. A familiarity of imagery and materials gives the work an interesting simplicity that is attractive to the eye, drawing attention to the background of our daily lives, picking out beauty and magic where it generally goes unnoticed.

For this exhibition, Norris will create new work in response to the feel and imaginings evoked by the Lamb Gallery, Tower Building and surrounding grounds, and the winter months. 1950’s and 60’s furniture, birds, rabbits, modernist design, the notion of faded elegance, and Christmas decorations provide a staring point for drawings, installation and mini-comic.

In Cape’s piece ‘Sunstay’ she will use several hundred paper airplanes and suspend them momentarily between floors. Looking down from the balcony of the gallery and looking up from the foyer area of the tower viewers can experience these fragile planes in mid-throw forming fancy clouds of colour. These flights of fancy are a gesture of aspiration forming a sky we can either walk beneath or look down on.

This exhibition runs at the Lamb Gallery 27 January - 25 February 2006.

LAMB GALLERY / 1st Floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, Nethergate

Opening times for exhibition: Monday to Friday / 9.30am - 8pm, Saturday / 10.30am - 4.30pm

For more information call 01382 345330. www.exhibitions.dundee.ac.uk

ENDS

For further details:

Anna Day
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Tel: 01382 384768
Email: a.c.day@dundee.ac.uk