The Rings of Saturn
Maurice Doherty, Mick Peter, Owen Piper, David Sherry
13 November – 18 December 2004

Rings of Saturn presented the work by four artists linked by a sense of the absurd, humour and irreverence. The exhibition consisted of a double sided video installation by Maurice Doherty, sculptural work by Mick Peter, audio/sculpture, video and drawings by David Sherry and a sculptural intervention by Owen Piper.

Mick Peter usually makes groups of works, often destabilising them by pitching clashing reference points and methods.  His work in the exhibition took the form of drawings and sculptures.  The drawings combining text and image in a non-sensical way and the sculptures played with scale and materials to present a re-presentation of everyday objects.

David Sherry exhibited a sheep made of cardboard with a hidden tape recording of coughing and spluttering, at once humorous and mesmerising.  His video piece involved a character talking to camera about his (fictional) experience as an astronaut.

Owen Piper often creates a space where the boundaries between furniture and abstract sculpture are blurred. Employing domestic materials such as clingfilm, Piper alters and amplifies their characteristics in the final construction. In The Rings of Saturn Piper installed a set of home-made saloon doors into a modified gallery wall, creating a transitory point between the spaces and other works in the exhibition.

Maurice Doherty likes to present something that is essentially simplistic, but which potentially enters into complex thoughts in our psyches. His work in the exhibition showed a double-sided projection of a girl spinning a hula-hoop, seemingly endlessly.  This work refers back to the title of the show. The Rings of Saturn are caused by gravitational break-up of objects too close to the planet’s surface.  This reference to the dissolution of logic and stability informs the exhibition as a whole.

Exhibition supported by Scottish Arts Council

A free poster publication accompanied the exhibition.

Download a  version of the essay by Lili Reynaud Dewar


David Sherry, Sheep, 2004


Maurice Doherty


Mick Peter, No Problem Drawings, 2004