MGM arts coordinator Clare Moloney is exploring some of the highlights of the arts programme during the month of May. In her latest piece, Clare looks at Indelible - Every Contact Leaves a Trace, Fabrica Gallery Brighton, which closed on May 18 2008.
Indelible: Every Contact Leaves a Trace was an enthralling dialogue between forensic science and contemporary art disciplines. The exhibition was inspired by the pioneering forensic scientist Edward Locard’s ‘exchange principle.’ Locard proposed that whenever two surfaces come into contact, a transference of material takes place.
Forensic biologist Alison Fendley and artist Shelly Goldsmith explored how human actions, emotions, and presence in the world leave an enduring trace upon our environment and other people.
Fendley interprets evidence (such as body fluids, DNA and other human debris) collected in serious sexual assault cases. As Fendley’s main aim is to identify the perpetrator, she has to remain objective without being drawn into the emotional story of the victim.
Artist Shelly Goldsmith used Fendley’s working methods to create a narrative from the perspective of the victim. Placing a series of second-hand garments over tables or pinning them on to the walls of the gallery, Goldsmith imagines the psychology, emotions and memories of the wearers throughout their trauma and inscribes these on to the material using a variety of methods including dyeing, subliminal printing, and laser etching.
The positioning of the clothes reminded me of the way the dead are laid out in their coffins - embodied and disembodied at the same time. My personal favourite in the show was After the Flood it Got Very Hot; an intricate drawing of what appears to be a hospital/laboratory setting, literally scolded on to the fabric of a cocktail dress. As each garment is cut or disfigured in some way, the effect is both disturbing and poignant.
Using the research and theories of consultant clinical and forensic psychologist Anna Motz, artist Carole Hayman created the installation No-one Escapes. Using a variety of voices and perspectives, Hayman’s piece explores the disturbing case of serial killers Fred and Rosemary West.
Containing four separate monitors and a deliberate living room-style setting, the installation examines the impact of the case on the people connected with it, combining personal testimonies - including those from the sister of a victim and the daughter of Fred West - with professional analysis from solicitors and psychiatrists involved in the case.
As each monitor plays simultaneously, the viewer is faced with multiple truths and realities which it is impossible to place into any kind of hierarchy. The domestic setting brings on the realisation that ‘monsters’ can be everyday people committing horrific deeds in everyday houses and streets.
To unpack the exhibition and Locard’s theories further, Fabrica invited dancer and choreographer Charlie Morrissey to be artist in residence for the duration of the exhibition.
Specialising in contact improvisation - a form of movement that involves two or more dancers sharing weight and energy, Morrissey engaged with gallery staff and visitors through a programme of informal discussions and an online Blog.
Of particular interest were the Moving Dialogue presentations, where Morrissey invited a series of movement practitioners including osteopaths, yoga teachers and aikido specialists to dance with him whilst holding a verbal dialogue – a sort of free form improvisation around the themes of the exhibition.
These events were popular and attended by a rapt and engaged audience. In demonstrating the body’s capacity to record and retain information, memories and trauma, Morrissey’s residency bridged the practices of both the artists and the scientists in the exhibition.
Indelible facilitates a rich dialogue between different artistic disciplines and between science and contemporary art. It is fascinating to see how artists and science professionals talk to each other and inspire each other across their individual practices.
For museums who have worked with an artist for the first time as part of MGM this year or are thinking of doing so in the future, Fabrica’s programming of this exhibition provides an invaluable insight into how artists collaborating with other disciplines can unpack collections to create new and exciting connections not only for audiences, but for other artists and gallery/museum staff as well.
Indelible is available for tour: contact Fabrica Gallery for further details - info@fabrica.org.uk
