16 Nicholson Street’s Residency and Exhibition, ‘Essential Body’, focuses on ritual, the interconnections of nature, and the body. The gallery hosts Zolatrope and Hayley Jane Dawson from the 15th of April to the 19th of May, with Hanna Tuulikki and Cameron Mackay acting as mentors for the residency.
Zolatrope’s collaborative practice emerged from a parallel interest in connection to ecology, our interaction with our surroundings, and a disconnection to place. Their understanding and exploration of these ideas are investigated from a duality of perspectives, systems and ritual. Their investigations become an instrument to foster a more considered connection with the environment.
Hayley Jane Dawson lives and works in Glasgow. Dawson’s work has taken the form of installations, predominantly using ceramics, fabric and cast or found objects. She also works with performance and film. Her work is a vessel to explore her sexuality and experiences as a queer person. Dawson’s work is almost always autobiographical; frequently using her own body as a channel through which to explore her relationship with the landscape, with others and with herself.
For Zolatrope, ‘Essential Body’ further explores how we process data and information about our planet. The work developed during the supporting residency acts as a tool to engage with the differences between and significance of ritual and habit, and our understanding of geological information. Dawson’s work in ‘Essential Body’ is an opportunity for the artist to realise a period of research and interest in the landscapes of Scotland through her travels around the country as well as more locally.
Hanna Tuulikki is an artist, composer and performer based in Scotland, who specialises in working with the voice and gesture, to re-imagine resonant stories of contemporary relevance. In research-led, multi-disciplinary projects, she investigates the ways in which the body communicates beyond and before words. With a particular interest in the practice of ‘mimesis’ within musical and movement traditions across cultures, her work explores the place of folk narratives, memory, ritual and technology within specific environments. Informed by contemporary understandings of ‘naturecultures’ and ‘gender performance’, her work gravitates towards the spaces ‘in-between’, be it human-and-more-than-human, male-and-female, or ancient-and-contemporary, considering the ‘sounding body’ as a meeting point between self and the world.
Cameron Mackay is an expedition leader, self-shooting filmmaker and climate change researcher. His expedition work has taken him to polar, mountain and jungle environments where he has led youth groups and students. Since organising his first independent expedition in 2014 to Greenland, he has worked as a leader on several others in the Himalayas, Tanzania and the Amazon. Driven by a desire to engage new audiences with stories of environmental change, he has conducted research, composed music and produced documentary films which have been shown by the BBC, at IMAX theatres and at film festivals across Europe. Through this work, the resources presented here at Changing Planet were created.
Curator:Isabella Shields.
Documentation: Sean Patrick Campbell.
Intersectional Events:
Cameron Mackay: Queer Exploration 02.05.19 / 18:00-20:00
Hanna Tuulikki and Cameron Mackay: On Wilderness 10.05.19 / 18:00-20:00
Publication Launch for ‘Essential Body’ 17.05.19 18:00-20:00
In Conversation Event with Mentors + Residents 19.05.19 16:00-18:00