Raw Horizons: Federation Gallery, Dundee

Art Installation.

2-30th July 2022 Federation Gallery, Dundee

Raw Horizons is a semi-interactive video artwork by artist Adam Lockhart. The piece is a celebration of Brutalist architecture, which in the past has often been derided, however, more recently it has experienced a new appreciation. Brutalism is related to the French ‘béton brut’, which translates as ‘raw concrete’ where this exhibition title is derived from. Quite often these buildings are separated from nature and can appear austere, but when they are intentionally combined with greenery, such as the Barbican Estate in London or unintentionally, at the abandoned and overgrown St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, the structures and the natural world synthesise extremely well, forming a sublime relationship. This relationship is a metaphor for how mankind, cities and nature need to work together rather than as separate entities.

The exhibition uses old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors, which were around while most brutalist buildings were being constructed, mainly in the 1960-70s. The videos feature existing buildings from Dundee combined with nature and live gallery participants, with a further video showing the demolition of the Hilltown Alexander Street multistorey flats. To accompany the exhibition, printmaker Scott Hudson has created a series of screen-prints using some of the same imagery used in the videos.