The Beautiful Materials gallery in Newton Mearns presents its third exhibition, Love Me, aligning with the seasons of Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Curated by Nicola Atkinson, Love Me explores the desire to be loved, and intimacy, simultaneously ‘addressing the dilemmas of consumption and sustainability.’
Visitors entering the gallery encounter dozens of tote bags made by invited artists and Nicola herself, all using the same material: golden-coloured velvet. Evoking a strong tactile presence and sparking interest, the materials’ origin deserves mention at the outset: it was gifted to Atkinson seven years ago by the Glasgow-based indie band Belle and Sebastian, who used it as a stage backdrop during their 2011 Write About Love tour, which included 22 concerts worldwide.
For this exhibition, Nicola Atkinson and eleven artists – Alex Allan, Alison Templeton, Caron McKenna, Despoina Isaia, Eilidh Weir, Joanna Rucklidge, Rosie Cunningham, Sadie Smith, Spencer Dent and Lorna & Madeleine Swinney – designed tote bags in their own distinct artistic languages.
Nicola created 34 bags for this exhibition, many of which incorporated paintings from her Vessels exhibition, shown last year at Linlithgow Burgh Halls, printed on the inner lining. There are four special bags, trimmed with green fabric on the edges. She used two portraits of her mother, printed on the lining, painted in the 1980s, when Nicola was 17.
She recalls the days of her mum’s surgery, during which she had to look after her. With an artist’s nature, she turned to painting, producing 23 portraits of her mum.
Bag 28’s colourful handle is by the late fashion designer Irene Kasmer – a gift to Nicola from her friend, Kasmer’s daughter, Lauran, an artist in Los Angeles.
The Iconic bag draws inspiration from 21st-century designs by Chanel and Longchamp. By making a pretty deep bag with a quilted design, using merely the velvet fabric without any add-ons, Caron McKenna aimed to create a functional bag, wanting it to be ‘tactile’ while sticking to a ‘less is more’ minimal aesthetic. She is self-taught in sewing but as stated in her biography, studied at Queen’s College Glasgow ‘where the late Professor Malcolm Lochhead was head of textiles and design.’ She previously worked in the wardrobe departments of various Scottish theatre companies.
London-born, Manchester-based multimedia artist Spencer Dent’s Boom Bag aims to reflect their previous works by using abstract shapes to create a graphic, bold design, achieving contrast with black on gold velvet. With an extra-long strap that can be tied at different points, he wanted it to be more ‘modular and practical.’ Having graduated in Fine Art Photography at the Glasgow School of Art in 2022, Dent’s work focuses on the topics of shape, form and the organic environment.
Multidisciplinary artist Despoina Isaia used a sling-like shape, decorating the fabric with blue paper string and used wood for the handle. She positioned a domestic metal basket in the middle, resulting in a cradle-like structure. As it reminded me of a traditional Greek fabric bag used to carry a pot of food to a wood fire or to share with others, this bag carries an emotional connection. Born in Athens and based in Glasgow, Despoina Isaia’s artistic practice explores ‘themes of loss, adaptability, and transformation through materially driven sculptural processes.’
A significant portion of the exhibition features photographs of the backdrop curtain. Nicola Atkinson captured the curtain, with its folds and curves casting shadows and creating hues of gold, printing the photographs digitally on velvet and framing them in two sizes: 40 x 50cm and 13 x 13cm. She did not cover the velvet with glass, making its texture easier to perceive: it’s hard to tell whether it’s the actual curved velvet or a photograph, so a closer look is needed.
She also had a small 13 x 13cm photograph signed by the band members of Belle and Sebastian, hanging at the entrance of the gallery. The display of Belle and Sebastian’s Write About Love album on the shelf among the photographs emphasises the intersection of emotional connection and material necessity.
Artists Nicola Atkinson and Caron McKenna will be holding a workshop on 14th March from 13:30 to 15:30, where participants will be making a rose from Belle and Sebastian’s backdrop curtain.
With thanks to Omur Sahin Keyif (Insta: @theartsreporter) for this review.
