SSA 2006
Contemporary Art Open Exhibition

Royal Scottish Academy building, Edinburgh
June 17th to July 20th, 2006

SSA on Screen

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

To see ourselves as others see us

Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald, to be launched on Thursday, June 15th.

Aeneas Wilder

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Aeneas Wilder

Artist’s impression of platform installation viewed from behind.          

S Ravi Shankar,

"Bagpipes wrapped around my memories, always around my memories", 2006

PRESS RELEASE
Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald
Get a Bollywood Make-Over

Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald get the Bollywood makeover on a giant billboard (the largest ever on this site) outside the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh for this year’s Society of Scottish Artists’ exhibition. This year’s exhibition is enhanced by an Indian-Scottish art extravaganza exploring Scottish identity which took two years to bring to fruition and involves top Indian and Scottish artists, called As Others See Us.

SSA President, Kate Downie, says, “‘The SSA has always been innovative. We are, after all, the first to bring Picasso’s work to Scotland, but As Others See Us is our most ambitious project to date, and the culmination of two years work. We are delighted to have the work of seven major artists from across India, as well as hosting the ‘Bollywood-meets-Holyrood’ billboard project conceived and co-ordinated by top Scottish artist, Aeneas Wilder. We are also hosting a three-day programme of workshops, tours and lectures to celebrate the cultural exchange between Indian and Scottish artists.“

The billboard is so big that children of all ages who stick their heads through the cut-out holes will be looking through the pupils of eyes set in ‘Chas and Flo’s’ 1.5m wide faces to become part of this spectacular photo opportunity!

Artisan painters from Bangalore, who normally create giant posters for the latest Bollywood blockbuster, have been responsible for this giant Indian interpretation of our familiar symbols of Scottish identity.

Meanwhile, inside the RSA, seven internationally-known Indian artists are exhibiting work on the theme of ‘As Others See Us’ alongside the best of contemporary Scottish and other international art. S Ravi Shankar, for example, has included a bagpiper, Nessie and lots of tartan in a truly different interpretation of these familiar symbols of Scotland.

As Others See Us is only part of SSA 2206, the annual contemporary open art exhibition, which embraces a range of media from painting to video. SSA on Screen includes the work of 12 exciting video artists, covering everything from an extremely-friendly kiss between an owner and her dog to a piece about a lone woman, caught in a world of strange objects and sounds, juxtaposed with images of a pink flamingo. Installations run from the politically-charged ‘The Salt March’, refer to Ghandi’s protest against British taxation, and the poetic ‘Drowned Sailors of Shetland’, is a tribute to those lost at sea.

The Society of Scottish Artists in brief:

• Founded in 1891 to represent the ’more adventurous spirit in Scottish art’
• Is one of the oldest artists’ collectives in the UK, with over 350 members
• Runs an annual contemporary open art exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy
• Has been the first to bring to Scotland the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch and has shown the work of future Turner-Prize winners such as Douglas Gordon.

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