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 edinburgh art festival and annuale - part one
Stasis, happy hardcore and cannibalism in Edinburgh. There’s an Edinburgh festival for nearly everything, so it almost seems strange that the Edinburgh Art Festival is now only in its third year. With nearly 30 galleries taking part across the city, and coinciding with The Annuale festival, which promotes local emerging art, there’s a diverse range of art on display, from the masterful Canaletto to the mischievous David Shrigley. This week and next we bring you our thoughts on a selection of shows. marijke van warmerdam - first dropsee images Time seems to stand still in Marijke van Warmerdam’s first solo exhibition in Scotland. Using sculptures and moving images, the Dutch artist tries to grasp at ideas or moments which remain out of reach. Animated images have a physical presence, whether through the slow, stirring movement of large inkjet prints suspended on rotational hinges, or by way of projected film loops.  Roeren in de verte and Dream machine (both detail). In Passage, 16mm film is projected onto a tiny screen that is dwarfed by the attached projector. Black and white squares continually expand and consume each other, somehow creating the impression of motion without movement, or stasis. We see a snowy scene through a window as a cup is stirred; a pancake is photographed mid- flip, looking like a round moon floating in the kitchen; and a cotton ball cloud emits a singular, solid drop of rain. Depicting images or objects associated with contemplative pauses in a daily routine, van Warmerdam attempts to make the fleeting moment concrete. Marijke van Warmerdam’s First Drop’ is at Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until 17 September. www.fruitmarket.co.uk  matt stokes - pills to purgesee images Stokes is a die-hard researcher and archivist, and much of this, his first solo exhibition, takes you through an intriguing collection of underground happy hardcore music paraphernalia, exhibited alongside reconstructed speakers modelled on those used in the raves held in the Windermere caves in the late-80s. He pays admirable attention to detail, as exemplified by his 2005 film Long After Tonight, shot in a Dundee church. The film (previously seen in Beck’s Futures) is a beautifully edited homage to Northern Soul dancers, with those featured having danced in the adjacent hall during the early-70s.  Long After Tonight and Real Arcadia (both detail). Visitors to the exhibition are also able to see early production images and film rushes of a new work in progress, commissioned by the gallery in collaboration with a local black metal band and several pipe organists, which promises to be an exciting (and odd) blend of music, film and sculptural installation. Matt Stokes’ Pills to Purge Melancholy is at Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, until 16 September. Sacred Selections will be performed at St Giles’ Cathederal, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh on 24 August at 7.30 pm. www.collectivegallery.net  everybody comes to holyroodsee images Featuring 13 artists from around the world, this show purports to examine the nature of celebrity and the media, yet suffers from a case of trying to fit a whale into egg, with too many works in a relatively small exhibiting space. Attempting to focus on individual pieces is made virtually impossible by the interference of the sound and placement of other works in the room, despite the provision of headphones in some cases.  Animation still by Angie Reed and Video still by Tia Shani (both detail). Despite this, the exhibition contains a few interesting works which manage to hold their own in the surrounding clamour. Arif Ozaka’s disturbing cannibalistic paintings hold a grim fascination, despite their diminutive size, and Ross Sinclair’s Modular T-Shirt Installation appropriately brandishes its slogans. Ursula Mayer’s book and video works stand out for their quality of production, but are not given enough space to be properly digested in this exhibition that has grand ideas, but which nevertheless fails to engage. Everybody Comes to Holyrood is at Atticsalt Gallery, Edinburgh until 03 September. www.atticsalt.co.uk
Shireen Taylor
The Edinburgh Art Festival and The Annuale continue until 03 September. Full exhibition listings can be found at www.edinburghartfestival.com and www.annuale.org
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comment by flyingtwinkle
Aug 5, 2006
This Dutch artist"s simplicity and straightforwardness is her hallmark
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