Mike Nelson

As the first few students step across into the professional practice course at level 3, I thought it might be interesting to blog about exhibitions from that perspective from time to time.  How was the exhibition conceived and carried out?

I was full of anticipation at the weekend as I went across to see the Mike Nelson exhibition in Tramway in Glasgow. I am a huge Mike Nelson fan, but rarely get to see his work so I had high hopes for this show.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The exhibition is a tribute to a dead friend, an orcadian mountaineer and traveller, as well as a reflection on the human relationship to wilderness.  This means that the exhibition has local relevance in Scotland, and specifically in Orkney. The show had in fact travelled down from the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness on Orkney. Tramway is owned by Glasgow Local Authority and the Pier Arts Centre is a charity which receives grant funding from Orkney Islands Council. Both will have a remit to be locally relevant and so this exhibition would have benefited them both in the furtherance of that aim as well as being an excellent show in its own right. The subject matter suited the venue.

Mike Nelson is famous for his wonderfully intricate and detailed faux environments. Maze like warrens of rooms meticulously dressed seem to suggest recently departed occupants with a story to tell. His shows, as they normally exist, must take weeks of work to install with a large team of technicians.  This show, built to travel, has been cleverly constructed around one wall. It is Mike Nelson Lite.  It is very possible that the plan for the show has influenced the way it is made.
Spaces like Tramway and Pier will be commissioning exhibitions at least a year in advance, if not three.  This means that many exhibitions are commissioned via proposal, with the work made after the exhibition has been agreed.  This work was constructed at a scale that fitted into the space allotted to it.
Nelson’s work is very accessible and human scaled.  One side of the wall holds a screen onto which are projected images of fire circles in the Canadian wilderness, little rings of stones left behind by a departed traveller. The other side is a very Nelsonesque collection of his friend’s personal belongings; tiny shoes, a forearm cast, climbing gear, chocolate, medication, china ornaments, toy cars, letters. Two jackets and a dressing gown hanging on three hooks speak of a man at ease at home and in the mountains, and makes it feel as if he might be popping back to put the kettle on at any point.