Fiona Mackay
15 May - 21 Jun 2014
FIONA MACKAY
Sisters
15 May - 21 June 2014
Albert Baronian is pleased to announce Fiona Mackay’s first exhibition at the gallery, entitled “Sisters”. After having shown at her work at the Room, this exhibition now presents a new series of paintings made with fabric dye on very thin canvas.
Being a sister is not easy. Not in the slightest.
If you have ever been in the company of a friend and her Sister, the irresistible urge is to compare. The temptation is to forget about the singular, when presented with a variation to study. After noting and presenting the differences and similarities shared from surface to character, it is not uncommon to see on each Sister's face a mutual expression of both horror and pleasure, both, in being told you are or not alike.
If you happen to be the older Sister, you perhaps once had a feeling of being unique, until that plural came into function and then you were associated with the other. And if you were a younger Sister, you always had the template, a template to negate or acknowledge, but that template in style and character was always present as a constant sort of reference, a persistent line to cross, follow or negate.
The idea of Sisters in the first hand seems quite romantic, and on paper quite a great idea – having another to share, to discover oneself through the other's mistakes, goals and successes. However there are dark sides to being a Sister, and many lie in competition. Like any other sibling relationship, rivalry is a natural bi-product in the process of understanding oneself by seeking attention, affection and identity, however it is commonly agreed, that in the case of Sisters, the relationship between Sister to Sister is more vicious than any other sibling pairing. Rather the case of brothers, who tend to exert physical violence to regain power, Sisters follow a more psychological approach. One general argument for this is that unlike Sisters, brothers tend to be more objective, less sensitive and more goal-orientated.
In any case both sexes share a similar weakness for jealousy – between the repetition of dimensions, there is the desire to be unique, combined with the fear the other might cancel you out.
Being a Sister, you will know, and somehow not know your sister. You may have known her from the beginning, you share similar features, backgrounds, and yet she stands alone as her own self. She may not even like you, and still somehow you are close.
There is a natural tendency to take advantage of the closeness between Sisters in the sake of each Sister's individuality. In a bid for survival, it is often necessary to refuse to comprehend and often undermine the natural and consistent bond that a Sister shares with her other. It is common to envy her for what she has and it is easy to forget what indeed is particular about yourself.
However, having your Sister around is essential in regards to seeing who exactly you are. Sister with Sister is ultimately more powerful than a Sister alone. Forming a unit, together as individuals, Sisters are stronger and ultimately more complex. When combined often less needs to be said, the differences allow the ideas to become more explicit. By being introduced to a similar relation, we are free to notice the uniqueness of her mistakes and chances that make the Sister exactly who she is.
For my Sister.
Fiona Mackay (1984, Aberdeen, Scotland) lives and works in Brussels. She graduated from the Glasgow School of Arts in 2006. Recent solo exhibitions include “TOURIST” at Martin Van Zomeren, Amsterdam, “Syntax” at OUTPOST, Norwich, England and “Ghosts” at S.I.C., Brussels. Her work was recently presented in group exhibitions such as “Bande à Part” at CAB Art Center, Brussels, “Why Painting Now?” at galerie Emanuel Layr, Vienna and “Paradise” at Gallery Conrads, Düsseldorf. This summer she will participate in group shows at galerie Samy Abraham, Paris and at Klemm’s, Berlin.
Sisters
15 May - 21 June 2014
Albert Baronian is pleased to announce Fiona Mackay’s first exhibition at the gallery, entitled “Sisters”. After having shown at her work at the Room, this exhibition now presents a new series of paintings made with fabric dye on very thin canvas.
Being a sister is not easy. Not in the slightest.
If you have ever been in the company of a friend and her Sister, the irresistible urge is to compare. The temptation is to forget about the singular, when presented with a variation to study. After noting and presenting the differences and similarities shared from surface to character, it is not uncommon to see on each Sister's face a mutual expression of both horror and pleasure, both, in being told you are or not alike.
If you happen to be the older Sister, you perhaps once had a feeling of being unique, until that plural came into function and then you were associated with the other. And if you were a younger Sister, you always had the template, a template to negate or acknowledge, but that template in style and character was always present as a constant sort of reference, a persistent line to cross, follow or negate.
The idea of Sisters in the first hand seems quite romantic, and on paper quite a great idea – having another to share, to discover oneself through the other's mistakes, goals and successes. However there are dark sides to being a Sister, and many lie in competition. Like any other sibling relationship, rivalry is a natural bi-product in the process of understanding oneself by seeking attention, affection and identity, however it is commonly agreed, that in the case of Sisters, the relationship between Sister to Sister is more vicious than any other sibling pairing. Rather the case of brothers, who tend to exert physical violence to regain power, Sisters follow a more psychological approach. One general argument for this is that unlike Sisters, brothers tend to be more objective, less sensitive and more goal-orientated.
In any case both sexes share a similar weakness for jealousy – between the repetition of dimensions, there is the desire to be unique, combined with the fear the other might cancel you out.
Being a Sister, you will know, and somehow not know your sister. You may have known her from the beginning, you share similar features, backgrounds, and yet she stands alone as her own self. She may not even like you, and still somehow you are close.
There is a natural tendency to take advantage of the closeness between Sisters in the sake of each Sister's individuality. In a bid for survival, it is often necessary to refuse to comprehend and often undermine the natural and consistent bond that a Sister shares with her other. It is common to envy her for what she has and it is easy to forget what indeed is particular about yourself.
However, having your Sister around is essential in regards to seeing who exactly you are. Sister with Sister is ultimately more powerful than a Sister alone. Forming a unit, together as individuals, Sisters are stronger and ultimately more complex. When combined often less needs to be said, the differences allow the ideas to become more explicit. By being introduced to a similar relation, we are free to notice the uniqueness of her mistakes and chances that make the Sister exactly who she is.
For my Sister.
Fiona Mackay (1984, Aberdeen, Scotland) lives and works in Brussels. She graduated from the Glasgow School of Arts in 2006. Recent solo exhibitions include “TOURIST” at Martin Van Zomeren, Amsterdam, “Syntax” at OUTPOST, Norwich, England and “Ghosts” at S.I.C., Brussels. Her work was recently presented in group exhibitions such as “Bande à Part” at CAB Art Center, Brussels, “Why Painting Now?” at galerie Emanuel Layr, Vienna and “Paradise” at Gallery Conrads, Düsseldorf. This summer she will participate in group shows at galerie Samy Abraham, Paris and at Klemm’s, Berlin.