These bodies of work began taking form in March 2020 when activity and access to resources and materials was vastly diminished. Throughout this period Farquhar and MacKillop were in dialogue with each other, sometimes discussing what they were making, sometimes not, sending images to each other as their work evolved.
This exhibition was actually initiated before the artists’ recent ‘Barbecue 2’ show at Office Baroque, Antwerp. Different national lockdown regulations led to the Antwerp version taking place before this one. This new combination of works takes place in the peculiar space that is Rollaversion in Hackney and is accompanied by a publication recognising the occasion.
Farquhar’s Barbecue works begin with the most basic act of collecting wooden sticks whilst walking in the woods and pathways around his studio in Edinburgh. In the studio the sticks are transformed into crudely-crafted bows before being framed by hanging them on found doors using simple robe-hooks.
MacKillop’s Calendar Houses are constructed from various domestic and office calendars and magazine-files bought from shops around her flat in London. The works are composed through her semi-distracted re-organisation of these objects. As with many of MacKillop’s sculptures the works are transitory in nature: their ready-made components remaining unfixed and unaltered, allowing for the idea that they could return to their initial function after being exhibited.
The grouping of works that form this version of the exhibition has come about through various improvised decisions, for example - what used doors are available locally, and by the artists’ supporting and critiquing of each other’s work as it develops. For these artists, an absorption in one’s practice and the offering of mutual support has provided solace, resilience and the potential for new directions.
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