Thursday 12 March 2009 at 12.30pm
On the principle of an ABC.... : In the form of an open dialogue with the public, this programme of gatherings launched in 2006 explored the museum's collections and the vocabulary of contemporary art.
The notion of distancing appears in Roger Acklings works, Colonsay, Inner Hebrides, 1987 (engraved wood) and the Sans titre series1988 (sun drawings.) In fact, Roger Ackling salvages materials which come from afar, both in terms of space and time (driftwood, old cardboard boxes etc), and works with these objects without touching them, with the aid of a magnifying glass. With a sure hand, he engraves the material with solar rays, a strange artist-cum-alchemist inscribing the violence of fire on cardboard or wood. The time he needs to complete his work depends on the time it takes!
