Dimensions: unconfirmed: 505 x 787 mm
Copyright: © Bruce McLean | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is Bruce McLean's "2 Rock and Shoreskapes, Largiebeg". It's monochrome photography, and I’m struck by the stark contrast between the dark rocks and what looks like draped fabric. It feels a little surreal. What's your take on it? Curator: It’s funny you say surreal - I think McLean is playing with our expectations of landscape photography. The draped fabric introduces an element of performance, almost as if the landscape itself is being dressed or staged. Are we looking at a natural scene or a constructed one? Editor: That’s interesting! So, it's not just about capturing a place but about transforming it? Curator: Precisely! It's as if McLean is questioning the very act of observing and representing nature. A bit cheeky, isn't it? Editor: Definitely gives me something to think about when I look at landscape art now! Curator: Indeed! It shows how a simple intervention can completely change our perception.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mclean-2-rock-and-shoreskapes-largiebeg-t01739
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These photographs record McLean's attempt to make paintings in which the landscape itself would take an active, creative role. In Seaskape he laid a 150-foot roll of sensitised paper on the shore, intending to 'let the sea make [a] mark, a perfect pure mark, over which I had little control'. However, the paper floated out to sea. For the Rock and Shoreskapes, he placed a 33-foot long sheet of white paper on the rocky shore and applied watercolour paint. Exposed to the elements, the paint ran, and the paper acquired numerous tears and stains. Gallery label, August 2004
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