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Dear Green is the title of a large-scale, 4-day exhibition at ZK/U, the Center for Art and Urbanistics, in Berlin. ‘dear green (place)’ being the denomination of the Gaelic name of the city of Glasgow (Glas-ghu), the title points to the essential concept of the exhibition. It invites young, emergent artists based in Glasgow to exhibit along contemporaries based in Berlin.

The idea to bring the two communities into dialogue almost appears as a logical consequence with regard to the two curators themselves. While Melissa Canbaz previously left Berlin to graduate from the Glasgow School of Arts with focus on curatorial practices, Beth Dynowski is an artist herself and based both in Glasgow and Berlin. Through the curators’ immersion into and in-depth knowledge of the divergent scenes, Dear Green covers a wide range of varied artistic approaches and uniquely allows to discover a cross-section of young, contemporary art created in Glasgow and Berlin.

With nearly 40 works exhibited in the two spacious rooms of the former railway depot, the visitor is fully left to coordinate through the abundant array of artistic impressions by himself. Without a more extensive theoretical frame through which the individual works could be approached, the challenge of Dear Green clearly lies not only in exploring the bringing together of the two communities but to explore their linkages through one’s own relation to the works.

In the upper main hall, I first catch on a piece by Berlin based artist Zoë Claire Miller. Shrink-wrapped fruits sit on bases made of styrofoam spray-painted in blue, vaguely reminiscent of Yves Klein. While Früchte der Zeugenbefragung (2014) appears appealing in its play with artistic material and presentation, one of the curators had to explain me the story behind the work. Creating a temporal junction to recent events, Miller’s sculpture refers to the prosecution of three dumpster-diving students that were accused of having stolen from dumpsters of the supermarket Tegut. Miller’s sculpture therefore consists itself of previously discarded, yet stolen materials.

Apart from the distinctness of the many other multi-medial installations that like Miller’s work combine different objects and materials, I become aware that the usage of clay reappears surprisingly often. In the cases of Glasgow-based artists Marysia Gacek (Volvo Dangle,2014) and Kari Robertson (Human Attention is a Scarce and Perishable Good, 2014), the raw, worked clay reveals the traces of its own making. Likewise Glasgow-based, Lauren Gault (Lush,2014) uses ceramics that seem to function through the idea of process in their very material presence. The glazed ceramic necklaces of Berlin artist Hella Gerlach (Hangover Bodyedition 4/7 and 5/7,2014) are worn by the curators and function both performatively and site- or ‘body’-specifically. As in these cases the material allows to access works with points of departure unalike, it also unleashes a wider interest in hand-craft and questions of process, pointing to a shared contemporary preoccupation.

My stroll further leads me to the basement. Here, I find the focus to lie on video installations and overall more technically originated works. Dominic Watson’s Are You Not Entertained? (2013) shows the artist in the Scottish moorland Glenkiln Reservoir, trying to entertain a stony, monumental couple sitting in the landscape. Raising questions about the medium of sculpture and its monumental qualities, Watson playfully turns around the problematic of the monument in its traditionally expected relational function upon the viewer. Equally brisk is Paul Sochacki’s 24 Hour Scottish Highland Cow (2013), showing a Scottish Highland Cow staring back at the visitor in a 24 hour loop. Alluding to Douglas Gordon’s famous 24 Hour Psycho, Sochacki’s piece compares to Watson’s through both its art historical reference and its implicit insinuation of the question of the entertaining function of the filmic medium.

At some point, the sound of Voodoo Chile can be heard, initiating a short series of performances that take place in the basement. In Steven Grainger’s Equity Release: Voodoo Chile (2014), the played record brings into effect his last will, that in form of 100 printed testamentary bonds can be taken by anyone who wishes to become Steven’s heir. The work functions through the usage of cultural references – quoting the song Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix – and the application of legal speech. While it therefore interrogates administrative as well as artistic systems of making, Grainger’s performance draws attention to the moment within a larger temporary process. As such, it finds its points of connection to processes addressed through art historical or cultural references, addressed materially or addressed medium-specifically in other works displayed. Therein, they all further call attention to the moment that brought them together and contribute to the overall experimental approach within which Dear Green originated.

Dear Green
ZK/U, Berlin
27 february – 2 march 2014