THOMAS AITCHISON
TIM LEBREUILLY
STEPHEN MURRAY
“Lets all Gorge Ourselves at the Love Feast” is an assent to the divine testimone by a passively received assimilation of the Glasites[1] <#_ftn1> , (“Things strangled and blood" were rigorously abstained from. They disapproved of all lotteries and games of chance. The accumulation of wealth they held to be unscriptural and improper”).[2] <#_ftn2> The meetinghouse reflects the nature of Glasite worship, with an upstairs Feast Room for the Sunday love feast, and a main meeting hall with prominent central pulpit for preaching-centered meetings.
“The First Judgment” by Thomas Aitchison depicts four angelic silhouettes arranged in a hierarchical structure by way of virtue. Here jealousy and mistrust hold centre stage above a soft-core tableau being carried out in the scene beneath. This love triangle, or “manage a trois” gone wrong, contrasts roman paganism to modern day alliances and social situations. “New Town Window” echoes the windowless exterior on the reverse side of the wall so being because of the pre 1851 window tax which prompted many owners to block up their windows to avoid higher rates. The waxed cotton surface of this painting is at opposite poles to the daubed on colouring, levitated to the foreground by the underlying wire assemblage.
Tim Le Breuilly's pulpitic performance will encapsulate the drama of the surrounding space. Referencing classical themes such as the fable of Medusa a spinning clay head takes centre stage. The clay head was produced during adult learning evening classes and as so references the wider community whilst subjugating the role of the heroic artist to that of traitor and displayed on the castle ramparts.
A large timber framework supports eight images facing out from the centre of the hall. Above them wooden banners proclaim - all elements of image and structure are interlocked, in a self-supporting/perpetuating psycho-dramatic cycle of Murray as the artist. “Lets All Gorge Ourselves At The Love Feast” by Stephen Murray, is an installation that directly engages with the architecture and history of the meeting hall as well as the notion of the construction of myth/image/meaning. Is this structure an attempt to understand the different nuances of narcissism reflected from a muddy pool, or is it simply an absurd fabrication - a kind of Gil Martin[3] <#_ftn3> meets Max Clifford and Uri Gellar in a mental health wood workshop in Huntly type of scenario.
The exhibition runs from 3rd of April, then 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th of April, at the Glasite Meeting house, 33 Barony St, Edinburgh. Open 1pm-5pm.
Supported by Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire
Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC009201
