IC:Innovative Craft Blog

‘Matter 1’ - the producer’s view

Posted Monday 3 May 2010, 03:28pm

Amanda Game on ‘Drummond Masterton’, curated by Adam Paxon, with the help of Matt Hulse, Guy Bishop, IC:Innovative Craft and Dovecot:

Being hands off the curatorial process has been a challenge. Like teaching someone to ride a bike, there is always a temptation to demonstrate, to save time even, by grabbing the handlebars. But we have stepped back and watched the first wobbles, the odd grazed knee; tearful frustration and buckled mudguards transform into an extraordinary and exhilarating ride to the finish line.

‘Matter 1’ is installed. It is a visual feast, and for nine days only the North Gallery at Dovecot has become the place to get an introduction to digital maker Drummond Masterton, through the deft hands of our guest curator and jeweller Adam Paxon. ‘The Manual’, a new film made by Matt Hulse in collaboration with Adam, brings 20 minutes of poetry to process and allows Drummond’s articulate discussion of digital craft to be overlaid by brilliant action shots of cycle training; sawing and milling and strangely beguiling close ups of buttons, knobs, shelving systems and drills.

A billet of aluminium, two terrain bowls (one generously loaned by our colleagues at National Museums Scotland) and a group of jewel like test pieces by Drummond, draw the eye from sketchbook to finished works. The maker’s dramatic projected image of a French glacier hints at background inspiration, alongside boxes of a rare vinyl collection and the Dunlop Pedal-Powered Record Player (another special commission, courtesy of Guy Bishop and The Dick Institute, Kilmarnock).

Participation is possible – not through making a thing but pedaling a sound. Courtesy of the Dunlop Pedal-Power machine you can get on a bike to create your own sound with a version of ‘Jeff Mills: Waveform Transmission’ – amongst other rare finds of an internet vinyl trawl .Bring your own is also encouraged… find out how hard it is to keep an audible rhythm.

What Adam has managed, with the able help of Guy and Matt, is to tease out and explore the hidden foundation of Drummonds’ exceptional skill and knowledge. ‘Matter 1’ is a visually complex, poetic and all round stimulating orchestration of finished objects, film, photography, voice and sound. As Michael Polanyi wrote ‘it is impossible to learn to ride until we actually mount the bicycle and give it a try’. Come and enjoy the show, it’s as easy as riding a bike…

Amanda