Nothank (1999)

Graham Fagen

carpet, five chairs, three tables, television and DVD player, DVD, waste bin, plants, refreshments and research materials

Classification:

Moving Image, Installation

Dimensions:

dimension variable cm

Accession Number:

CAC2005/9

Credit:

Purchased with funds from the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland operated by the Contemporary Art Society (2003-06) and supported by the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council, 2005

Scheme:

National Collecting Scheme for Scotland (NCSS) (2003-2006)

Ownership history:

Purchased from doggerfisher, Edinburgh by the Contemporary Art Society for its National Collecting Scheme for Scotland, with the aid of National Lottery funding through the Scottish Arts Council, 1 February 2005; presented to the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, 2005

Relationship:

doggerfisher, Edinburgh City Art Centre, Edinburgh

The central element of Fagen's work is a short video documentary dealing with planning and living on the Nothank housing estate in Irvine, Ayrshire. The edited DVD consists of a series of interviews with the Chief Architect and Head Planner of Nothank who outline ideas and concepts for contemporary living. These are juxtaposed with the views of a young couple, residents of Nothank, who talk about the reality of living on the modern urban estate as a family with young children. To the DVD, played through a standard non-domestic TV set, Fagen has added carpet, chairs and table to create an installation for use by gallery visitors. The style and arrangement of the furniture gives the work an atmosphere of impersonal officialdom, reminiscent of spaces used for training videos or work presentations. Graham Fagens work emerges from his own experiences, combined with an awareness that these are shaped by history, myth and literature. Fagen works mainly with photographic or interactive installations, often including printed scripts and videos. His work may at first seem to be fictional but, on closer examination, actually deals with social, political and historical accuracies.

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