The Island is The Gallery
Lerwick, Gonfirth + St Ninian, Shetland
April 2021
The Island is The Gallery was a series of 3 site-specific performances around Shetland in April 2021 that invited islanders to find a painting in the landscape and explore new ways to engage with art.
Coronavirus created a time where the walls in which we exhibit work were out of bounds. In response, Ross-Smith removed the need for a gallery and began creating artwork to wear on her body, as she took her art out walking.
This work questions where we expect to engage with art and who we expect an art audience to be. By situating her wearable paintings in public space, Ross-Smith testifies that contemporary art practice belongs outside of the white cube.
In a time when touch seemed impossible, Ross-Smith used physical gestures to connect with audiences. Playing with ideas of accessibility of the artworld, this work provides a platform to reassess where art belongs. It asks that the post-covid art world be much less city-centric, hold accessibility at the forefront and revalue hierarchies of space.
Supported by Shetland Arts as part of Refresh Now, a series of commissions for Shetland artists to create new works exploring inventive and non-traditional responses to the challenges in creating performance during coronavirus.
All films and photographs by Stephen Mercer.
MEDIA
Shetland News, 4 June 2021
Shetland Times, 11 April 2021
Shetland Times, print, 23 April 2021
BBC Radio Shetland, interview with Jen Stout, from 21:25mins
STV News, 28th Jun 2021
