David Blyth
Knockturne: Aberdeen Art Gallery, till 14 April 07
Knockturne is the result of a year-long collaboration, where David Blyth has been working with local sheep farmer Duncan Connon during the lambing season in 2006. For the artist, issues of autobiography and the natural environment are a central part of his practice but a whole new facet was broucht to the work with the news that he and his family were expecting a baby. Insprired by the biography of Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space, converging ideas of maternity, life and death, magic and ritual permeate the exhibition, the overall theme of which might be described as 'safe delivery'.
Representing the outcome of several collaborative partnerships forged between the artist and the local farming community, David went on to create a series of interrelated sculptural work and accompanying publication that together form the exhibition. These include diary entries made during the lambing season, a stall at the recent Scotsheep festival, and the salvation of a flock of twenty six lambs - the season's non-survivors. Following the woollen thread, the artist also made visits to a local textile mill, feeding the encounter into a video-based work on show in the exhibition.
Supported by: Scottish Arts Council, Dewar Arts Awards, Henry Moore Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Rural Challenge Fund.
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