Open To Change
Hanging Together
Paul Eames ,Carol Mason , Peter Russell, Val Shatwell, Karen Strang
8 May - 20 June 1998

Hanging Together are a group of artists living and working across the Stirling area and have been staging exhibitions all over the world since they first formed in 1994. In this new show the artists have taken the history of the gallery building as their inspiration with works reflecting the former department store and Alhambra theatre which were once all part of the old arcade.

Paul Eames presented articles of clothing as portraits of their customary identity, which when taken out of context adopt a more ambivalent meaning. In this instance they allude to notions of family, patriarchy, gender roles and individualism.

Carol Mason displayed photographic collages of parts of the human body adorned with garments which are held together by items of haberdashery such as hooks, clasps, and zips. Alongside these collages are extracts from Victorian literature which contrasts the sexual quality of these items with Victorian morality.

Peter Russell’s Green Room gives us a space to chill out. In theatrical tradition, the Green Room was a waiting room for performers near the stage. It was originally green to relieve the eyes from the glare of stage lights. The subdued green lighting and gentle images of seals in water provide the ideal setting for relaxation.

Val Shatwell asks if corsets really are making a comeback? Two dozen 18” structures of the figure representing the changing shape which fashion sets for the female body are suspended from the gallery ceiling.

Karen Strang’s 'Desire Captured And Encapsulated In Window Dressing As The Motor Of Capital Reproduction' uses a variety of window-dressing methods of cover-up to explore notions of voyeurism. A series of light boxes are displayed in the gallery which incorporate smell as well as the visual.

Peter Russell, Green Room, 1998

Val Shatwell, Corset, 1998