On the 34, 1996
The Fringe Gallery Castlemilk, Pearce Institute,Govan and 240 Strathclyde Buses,Glasgow UK
Medium :- Vinyl Text, Acrylic, Wood, Photographs and Printed Material.
Dimensions :- Various
Atkinson-Griffith (later Atkinson.Davidson) works within the
community she inhabits, but her work avoids the do-gooder connotations
that come with the "community art" territory. Instead,
it displays a bizarre humour and a fine aesthetic quality. Her previous
exhibitions include Lost and Found, which involved her knocking
on the door of every house along a six-mile route across Glasgow
from Springburn to Govan, and asking for a teaspoon. Far from chasing
her away, most people were happy to donate their cutlery. She collected
1,314 spoons which she labelled with the donor's name and then used
to construct a 15-foot diameter chandelier.
Lawrence Donegan, The Guardian.1996
Developing the idea of Artist in Residence, Atkinson-Davidson
embarks on a project where the residency is placed in a moving environment
Glasgow buses. Taking the route of the number 34 bus to access an
audience, Atkinson-Davidson questions the role of the artist who
is most commonly thought of as a painter. Atkinson-Davidson takes
up this role and provokes people to think about their appearance,
by asking for volunteers to have their portrait painted. The artist
portrays each sitter realistically, but paints in black and white.
The classical portrait, the focus of attention, contradicts the
anonymity of sitting on the bus. An exhibition of the collected
portraits brings people together, alongside photographs of the bus
route and a text piece around the locally well-used canteen of the
Pearce Institute. Atkinson-Davidson also places questions, everyday
thoughts, onto the ceiling of the buses. The three parts of this
work are placed firmly in the public domain, transforming everyday
activities and bringing creative ideas to a wider public.
Sponsors:- Glasgow City Council, The Fringe Gallery,
Castlemilk, Pearce Institute,Govan and 240 Strathclyde Buses.
