'Infectious - Pass It On' - Jeremy Lorne Inglis (April 2007)

infectious0 As Jeremy Lorne Inglis points out in his artist’s statement, modern art is often considered elitist and separate from popular culture. As minimalists, conceptualists and avante garde artists strive to break the mould and give the art world something different they can also, in the process, create a rift between themselves and the public. But why should the public be excluded from this integral part of contemporary culture? Surely, in this age of interactive communication, the public’s wide-ranging views and ideas are an important source of inspiration?

These ideas are exactly what drives Edinburgh based artist Jeremy Lorne Inglis. Working with Aberdeen’s ‘Limousine Bull Artist’s Collective’, the artist put on an exhibition, which opened on Thursday the 19th of April, in order to display his previous work, both solo and collaborative, ranging from years 1994 to 2007. Photographs showed previous performances, which incorporated fire, period costumes and dramatic enactments. The present exhibition which, on the opening night, featured experimental Aberdeen band micklemass playing live, also served to set the tone for the artist’s “site specific hybrid performance work” which was to take place the following Saturday outside the tunnels (music venue and night club, also in Aberdeen). Jeremy Lorne Inglis aimed to involve the public in this project, titled ‘Infectious – pass it on’, by encouraging maximum interaction between his performance art group ‘dumkoppf’ and passers-by. The artist hoped to “break barriers” between the public and the performers in order to show that art can be accessible to all and need not be confined to the white walls of a modern art gallery.

infectious1 This particular project involved paint and physical contact with the public, and inside the tunnels the event carried on with live bands, comedy, film and a spontaneous open-mike spot. Elements of art, theatre, circus and music all merged together in one location giving the public a wide variety of activities and as a result, a new and refreshing insight into the world of contemporary art. By the artist’s own account, the event was well received and prompted a number of responses, including the possibility of new collaborations. This is precisely the kind of result that the artist is hoping to encourage and he has formed his own organisation just for this purpose. Called, “manifoldor”, the aim is to provide opportunities for artists of all disciplines and to be a forum for experimentation and the exploration of new and creative ideas.

With a distinct lack of such events in Aberdeen, it was encouraging to learn that venues such as Limousine Bull and the tunnels were willing to fully back such a project and that the council too, had been very supportive. Edinburgh and Glasgow are the usual locations for performance art and multimedia collaborations but perhaps this latest experiment may just have proved that there is also room for it in the North East of Scotland.

Article by Kerry Russell
Photography by Ian & Jane Frazer, Creative Space Scotland
Click here to view Infectious - Pass it on event flier