Five new works by six local and international contemporary artists have gone on display at Aberdeen Art Gallery. The works have been commissioned with support from the Friends of Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums.
All of the new commissions respond to existing works in the collection and are on display in Gallery 1 – Collecting art. This space tells the story of how the collection has developed since its Victorian origins, and explores the Art Gallery’s commitment to collecting contemporary art through a combination of gifts, bequests, donations, purchases and commissions.
The new works are a result of two commissioning strands and the artists are:
1. Self Portrayed
Annalee Davis (born 1963, St Michael, Barbados)
Richard Macguire (born 1991, Aberdeen)
2. Micro-Commissions
Daisy Williamson (born 1972, North Vancouver, Canada)
C(U)SP: Collection of (Unfinished) Shared Projects established Aberdeen, 2019
Flying Lion (born Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1982)
1. Self Portrayed
Granite merchant and art collection Alexander Macdonald (1837-1884) was instrumental in the creation of the Art Gallery, bequeathing his impressive collection to the city. Macdonald only bought works by living artists. A selection of his collection of 93 artists’ portraits is on display in Gallery 1. It is a real-time record of some of the most successful artists of the Victorian period.
The Self Portrayed commission seeks to redress the historical imbalance and lack of diversity in the original Macdonald portraits. The two commissioned artists were asked to make a self-portrait that expresses the self and speaks to their overall practice.
Richard Maguire (born 1991, Aberdeen) is based in Aberdeen. Made in England: A View from this Side is inspired by Maguire’s ancestral heritage, with portraits of his grandfather who travelled to the UK from India, overlaid with images of Maguire as a baby. There are also images of his grandfather's colleagues who worked on a Tuberculosis ward - doctors who migrated from India were usually given the more dangerous ward rounds.
Annalee Davis (born 1963, St Michael, Barbados) works primarily in textiles. Her embroidered Self-portrait contains elements that speak to the location of her studio in Barbados. Working on a dairy farm that used to be a sugar plantation in the colonial era, Davis regularly finds shards of 18th-century ceramics in the ground. These have been woven on to the surface of the work.
2. Micro-commissions
Works commissioned as part of the Gallery’s fifth round of annual Micro-commissions are also on display. The programme funds artists living and working in AB postcode areas to produce new work that relates to the Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums collection and explores themes of energy, environment, local economy or identity and representation. The next round of Micro-Commissions will open for submissions in July.
Penelope’s Web(b) by Daisy Williamson
This work is inspired by Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse, which is also on display in Gallery 1. Discovering that ‘Penelope’ was also Ancient Greek for ‘duck’, Williamson chose a print of two eider ducks as a reference for her weaving. The tapestry is partially unwoven, highlighting the impact of climate change and the connection to Penelope’s story in Homer’s The Odyssey.
Studio Spaces, Aberdeen 2024 by C(U)SP
This print shows examples of empty office spaces used by artists in Aberdeen. The temporary nature of these spaces contrasts with the luxurious studio accommodation of artists or earlier eras such as John Phillip, who is captured at work in a painting by John Ballantyne from the 1860s, on display in Gallery 7.
Unisus – Totem of a Change by Flying Lion
Unisus, a Unicorn / Pegasus hybrid creature made from solar panels, wind turbines and composting bins, sits astride the Mercat Cross, highlighting Aberdeen’s transition towards a more sustainable future.
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson, said, “It’s great to see these recently-commissioned works on display. They demonstrate the Gallery’s continuing commitment to supporting contemporary artists, particularly artists living and working in the North East. I’m sure visitors will enjoy exploring the new layers of meaning and insight the commissions bring to existing works in the collection.”