Both Colhoun and Ferguson rely on memory to direct their work, but why?

With age and deeper personal introspection, it has become a primary feature in Colhoun’s sculptures and Ferguson’s paintings. Yet the element which unifies the two artists’ practice is the acceptance that the broader concept of ‘memory’ is malleable, unreliable, inconsistent, and possibly even false.

As demonstrated by the infamous Mandela effect, people within the society and beyond can take on ideas, repeat them to themselves and others, and eventually they only become consistent as a type of communication. They cannot necessarily be depended upon as a reliable recollection of the past. In an age of growing politicised misinformation widely regarded as collectively and socially harmful, Colhoun and Ferguson prefer to explore how their own fading and nebulous memories are a constructive release akin to catharsis. The artists will speak to viewers and each other, through memory of events, people, loss, love and experience, using the visually and physically tactile materiality of their works.

This exhibition saw the division of floor space, (plinths, tables, installations) housing Colhoun’s intimate sculptural works, and the walls of the main gallery occupied by Ferguson’s paintings ranging from 14x18”, up to 72x72”. Many of the works by both artists are displayed demonstrating a visual relationship with each other, relying on the artists sharing their mutual influences of themes they seek to explore. The installation and curation relies on physical as well as conceptual relationships.

These bold and defined shapes and constructions are the vulnerable and ephemeral defence against the fragmenting of our own experiences.