Click here to jump to the main content.
Allison and Bray
 
Artists index
Projects
Uploads
Kitchen
Our collaborative practice involves working on site specific projects. We find ourselves naturally drawn to spaces that are not generally used for art installations or exhibitions and which evoke a strong response. Our combined individual responses to a space and to materials determine our next step in a gradual progression of intuitive responses and research. Increasingly we invite other people with diverse skills to collaborate with us.
The project names - New Strains - Path[ways] - Shift - Gift/Gave - Building Blocks - Canopy -make subtle connections with our working practice as it develops. The work is open to individual interpretation and to date it has been temporary, broken up at the end of its allotted time. Our practice addresses our concerns about the accessibility of art, by presenting work in non-gallery spaces.

More information
www.axisweb.org (see under Allison and Bray)

The natural world was the major influence and starting point for our work entitled CANOPY. When we were asked to explore Birnam in Perthshire with a view to siting a piece of artwork, two places had a particular appeal. The first was the woodland by the River Earn that incorporates the magnificent, ancient Birnam oak. Here the strong sense of a living link to the past was deeply moving. The second place was the interior of St Mary's Church with its beautiful Burne-Jones stained glass windows, and its blank arched window in the bell tower overlooking the nave. In the church there were plentiful reminders of the natural world, from the lush greens of the plants and foliage in the stained glass, to the discarded pictures of woodland animals and the dead crow and butterfly we found in the bell tower. Together the places suggested a narrative and it was our response to this that informed the work we made. The work is a subtle homage to nature. The beauty of the summer canopy of the ancient Birnam oak was recorded using contemporary materials and techniques, and recreated on acrylic panels that echo the dimensions of the blank window in the church bell tower. The arched window form was suspended high in the branches of one of the ancient trees close to the Birnam oak and documented there. Thus the influence of the Church was retained but dislocated and the summer foliage was artificially preserved as the seasons change. The panels were then shown indoors, high in the stairwell of the Birnam House Hotel. Still and moving images of the work suspended in the woods were shown on a small screen alongside, and next to that headphones played a sound installation of woodland birdsong.

The natural world was the major influence and starting point for our work entitled CANOPY. When we were asked to explore Birnam in Perthshire with a view to siting a piece of artwork, two places had a particular appeal. The first was the woodland by the River Earn that incorporates the magnificent, ancient Birnam oak. Here the strong sense of a living link to the past was deeply moving. The second place was the interior of St Mary's Church with its beautiful Burne-Jones stained glass windows, and its blank arched window in the bell tower overlooking the nave. In the church there were plentiful reminders of the natural world, from the lush greens of the plants and foliage in the stained glass, to the discarded pictures of woodland animals and the dead crow and butterfly we found in the bell tower. Together the places suggested a narrative and it was our response to this that informed the work we made. The work is a subtle homage to nature. The beauty of the summer canopy of the ancient Birnam oak was recorded using contemporary materials and techniques, and recreated on acrylic panels that echo the dimensions of the blank window in the church bell tower. The arched window form was suspended high in the branches of one of the ancient trees close to the Birnam oak and documented there. Thus the influence of the Church was retained but dislocated and the summer foliage was artificially preserved as the seasons change. The panels were then shown indoors, high in the stairwell of the Birnam House Hotel. Still and moving images of the work suspended in the woods were shown on a small screen alongside, and next to that headphones played a sound installation of woodland birdsong.

The natural world was the major influence and starting point for our work entitled CANOPY. When we were asked to explore Birnam in Perthshire with a view to siting a piece of artwork, two places had a particular appeal. The first was the woodland by the River Earn that incorporates the magnificent, ancient Birnam oak. Here the strong sense of a living link to the past was deeply moving. The second place was the interior of St Mary's Church with its beautiful Burne-Jones stained glass windows, and its blank arched window in the bell tower overlooking the nave. In the church there were plentiful reminders of the natural world, from the lush greens of the plants and foliage in the stained glass, to the discarded pictures of woodland animals and the dead crow and butterfly we found in the bell tower. Together the places suggested a narrative and it was our response to this that informed the work we made. The work is a subtle homage to nature. The beauty of the summer canopy of the ancient Birnam oak was recorded using contemporary materials and techniques, and recreated on acrylic panels that echo the dimensions of the blank window in the church bell tower. The arched window form was suspended high in the branches of one of the ancient trees close to the Birnam oak and documented there. Thus the influence of the Church was retained but dislocated and the summer foliage was artificially preserved as the seasons change. The panels were then shown indoors, high in the stairwell of the Birnam House Hotel. Still and moving images of the work suspended in the woods were shown on a small screen alongside, and next to that headphones played a sound installation of woodland birdsong.

GIFT / GAVE GIFT / GAVE is the first of two pieces of work which resulted from a two- month residency in the small town of Sand on the west coast of Norway in 2007. Flowers that were given to us as gifts on our arrival, trees, traditional Norwegian flower painting and knitting patterns inspired both pieces. GIFT / GAVE is a site-specific piece which involved painting flowers on a small sewage pumping station located next to the ferry in the centre of Sand. Our use of UVR light- revealing paint ensured that not only were the paintings visible by day, but they also glowed in the dark when viewed under blacklight.

GIFT / GAVE GIFT / GAVE is the first of two pieces of work which resulted from a two- month residency in the small town of Sand on the west coast of Norway in 2007. Flowers that were given to us as gifts on our arrival, trees, traditional Norwegian flower painting and knitting patterns inspired both pieces. GIFT / GAVE is a site-specific piece which involved painting flowers on a small sewage pumping station located next to the ferry in the centre of Sand. Our use of UVR light- revealing paint ensured that not only were the paintings visible by day, but they also glowed in the dark when viewed under blacklight.

BUILDING BLOCKS BUILDING BLOCKS is the second of two pieces of work that resulted from a two-month residency in the small town of Sand on the west coast of Norway in 2007. Flowers that were given to us as gifts on our arrival, trees, traditional Norwegian flower painting and knitting patterns inspired both pieces. Completed in Scotland this floor piece comprises hundreds of cubes of birch brought back from Norway. As with GIFT / GAVE there is a dual quality, with subtle marks and drawings visible in daylight and a glowing pattern of crosses revealed in the dark under blacklight.

BUILDING BLOCKS BUILDING BLOCKS is the second of two pieces of work that resulted from a two-month residency in the small town of Sand on the west coast of Norway in 2007. Flowers that were given to us as gifts on our arrival, trees, traditional Norwegian flower painting and knitting patterns inspired both pieces. Completed in Scotland this floor piece comprises hundreds of cubes of birch brought back from Norway. As with GIFT / GAVE there is a dual quality, with subtle marks and drawings visible in daylight and a glowing pattern of crosses revealed in the dark under blacklight.

HOMELAND Homeland is the work we made in the course of a two-month residency at Sculpture Space, in Utica, New York in 2006. Coming to Utica we had hoped to be able to take advantage of the city's remarkable architectural heritage - and the circumstances that have left so many of its buildings empty. In the event, however, we ended up making work that responded to Utica as a whole. We made a unique handmade Utica wallpaper, which gave us the opportunity to employ traditional skills and combine them with up-to the minute digital printing technology. Wallpaper tells a story. It transforms a space. The wallpaper features old keys that we collected in Utica, and images of some of the buildings in Utica that had a particular resonance for us. Wallpapers have names, and Homeland is the name for the wallpaper as well as the installation. 'Homeland' has many associations. For us the comfortable and domestic connotations are in stark contrast to alien ideas of homeland security. Our thoughts of our own home came to the fore as we considered parallels and divergences between the two cultures. The work is about the process we went through making sculpture in Utica and thus evidence of the process becomes part of the installation. We cast thousands of keys in wax and this became a ritual that was recorded on video to become part of the installation. The process did not end with the installation at Sculpture Space- the work is portable and adaptable. It has since been shown in the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and following on from that exhibition we are making a new wallpaper for the Year of Homecoming in 2009, which will be exhibited at the RSA during the 2009 Edinburgh Visual Arts Festival.

HOMELAND Homeland was a site specific installation made at Sculpture Space, Utica, New York during the course of a 2 month residency in 2006. It is shown here re-created for inclusion in SURVEY at the RSA in November 2007.

HOMELAND Homeland was a site specific installation made at Sculpture Space, Utica, New York during the course of a 2 month residency in 2006. It is shown here re-created for inclusion in SURVEY at the RSA in November 2007.

Homeland Site specific installation in Sculpture Space, Utica, New York 2006

Homeland Site specific installation at Sculpture Space, Utica, New York 2006

SHIFT Newhailes, East Lothian 2005 In 2005 we worked at a second National Trust for Scotland property called Newhailes, at Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. Here we made a site specific installation and a series of connected events, in response to the villa's rich history and environment. The connection between the villa and its surrounding landscape was an important influence on the work. The gardens at Newhailes were created to stimulate the senses, the intellect and the emotions. We hoped to echo this sentiment. On our initial visit to the house, we were immediately struck by the use of shells as a recurring motif throughout the house. The contrast between the opulence of the main house and the damp and dingy servants' quarters also made a strong impression. We made the first part of our work in the servants' scullery - a carpet of gold-leafed and gold-painted shells, based on designs taken from carpets in the rooms above. In its extraordinary opulence and impracticality it highlighted the inequalities between the lives of those living above and below stairs. A gloomy servants' corridor links the servants' quarters with the outside world - here a gentle evocative sound installation could be heard as visitors moved through the space. A reminder of the activity of earlier years, it is in fact a recording of ambient sound from outside the corridor. On certain evenings throughout the summer visitors were invited to Newhailes as darkness fell, to follow a path lit by candles through the gardens. This led to the wonderful shell grotto, its sense of mystery enhanced by the use of lighting, water and projections to create a contemporary interpretation of the sort of activity that might have taken place here in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Shift Site specific installation at Newhailes, East Lothian 2005

Shift Site specific installation at Newhailes, East Lothian 2005

Path[ways] Our second collaborative project, in 2004, found us working with the National Trust for Scotland at Culross Palace in Fife. Here we were given the opportunity to make work in two empty attic rooms, which was in place throughout the visitor season of April to September. Taking our inspiration from materials used in the medieval garden of the Palace, and from the stories of the life of St Mungo, we made work that reflected our personal, intuitive response to the place and created an evocative response. The work related to notions of sanctuary and journeys. In the first room we packed the empty fireplace with slate and made a large stack of slate in the centre of the room. Small panels of slate were engraved with words relating to the story of St Mungo, and set into gaps in the stonework of the walls where they were lit by candlelight. Slate is used in the garden to divide planting beds and as plant markers. The process of stacking and building with the slate was about laying down layers; layers can hide or reveal stories from the past. In the second room we covered the entire floor with a thick bed of cockle shells. We installed hidden lights beneath the floor and a diffused light shone up through the shell floor. The shells were the same as those used to make the paths in the garden, and have an association as waymarkers for pilgrims. Visitors were encouraged to walk on the floor and as they did so the shells broke creating constant change. There was a dark room and a light room. A transition from darkness to light, a journey, a story unfolding. A quiet meditative room and a room which could be loud or quiet as the visitor chooses. We wanted to make something to fit, that looked as if it had always been there. By using familiar materials in unexpected ways we hoped to provide a

Path[ways] Site specific installation in Culross Palace, Fife 2004

New Strains Site specific installation in Historic Scotland greenhouse in Melrose 2003

New Strains 2003 New Strains was our first collaborative work. We wanted to exhibit together but were unable to find a gallery space that appealed to us. We came up with the idea of making work in a non-gallery space and this was the result. New Strains was a temporary site-specific installation using natural light, clear acrylic panels, text and nylon line. It was designed for the Victorian greenhouse at Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh, and subsequently adapted for exhibition in greenhouses in St Andrews and Melrose. The acrylic panels were finely engraved with the Latin names of plants, which in English double as girls' names. They were suspended on nylon line from the roof of the greenhouse and were in constant gentle motion from the movement of the air. The polished edges of the panels, and the text on them, cast constantly changing reflections and shadows across the floor. The work inside the greenhouses was complemented by a subtle flower planting in shades of white and silvery-green in the surrounding beds. The plants selected were fragrant ones, and the windows of the greenhouse were left open to allow the scent of the flowers to penetrate the space.


Supported by the Scottish Arts Council and Edinburgh Council
© Copyright Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop Ltd. 2007. All rights reserved.
Incorporated in Scotland Company No. 123174 Registered Charity No. SC002404