Quarry

A major solo exhibition, commissioned by Picture this Moving Image in conjunction with Spike Island Gallery, Bristol. The exhibition was the culmination of a three-month ‘Moving Image Residency’.

‘Quarry’ is an installation using digital video and sculptural / architectural devices to investigate issues connected to the environment and commerce. It is an original artwork that draws attention to the binary oppositions of private / public inside / outside to explore the space of the in-between or liminal space.

The installation consists of two videos projected on either side of a free-standing plywood wall positioned off-centre in a large space, with viewing room organised in tiered seating. One projected film, ‘Blast’, portrays a controlled explosion in a quarry. In the other, Dr Chris Alabaster shows a bed-sit covered in a personal rock collection, with some vocal description by its owner. The two films, shown in emphasis either side of a wall, present conflicting but related relationships with nature: the destruction, scale and distance in ‘Blast’ as contrasted with the intimacy of Dr Chris Alabaster’s collection that dominates his personal environment, but which came from all over the world.

The exhibition was the culmination of a period of intense research. This ranged from specialist study with the University of Bristol Earth and Sciences department, to uncovering the obsessions of the hobbyist and the culture of ‘the rock and gem show’, as well as researching abandoned landscapes of disused mines, and contemporary working quarries.