The two person exhibition nowhere better combines new artworks by Iain Muirhead and Alison Ruttan that challenge our perception of danger and violence in relation to place. Whether the artists are borrowing from documentary images of terrorist attacks, crimes, tragic accidents, or natural disasters in local or global locations, the artworks present a powerful reminder that safety is a false concept.
Striking clay sculptures by Alison Ruttan and fiery abstract oil paintings by Iain Muirhead maintain a fascination with the sublime behind the horrific acts of destruction constantly streaming online and in broadcast news. Although the subject of the work is dark and nihilistic, the energy depicted in the canvases is oddly life-affirming, and the clay constructions allude to new structures often built among the rubble of ruined building sites. As the proliferation of such images in the media threatens to desensitize humanity, both artists consider the physical and mental implications of destruction and the revival of morality.
