Silver City Soul will present an innovative portrait project that searches for the soul of one of Scotland’s most historic cities. Working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, the National Galleries of Scotland’s Outreach team has joined with the people of Aberdeen to create a collective portrait which will explore the city’s past, present and future. The resulting video and photographic work will go on display this spring at the National Gallery Complex.
The exhibition will include powerful video footage, created by artist Adam Proctor, which will be shown alongside a set of striking portrait photographs. These photographs are arranged to form a montage which stretches the full length of the gallery. Inspired by the figurative paintings of 19th-century Aberdonian artists William Dyce and John Phillip (from the National Collection and Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum Collections), the people of Aberdeen have been invited to represent themselves and their city as part of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of the Nation: Live! Project. The project uses portraiture to create a dialogue between the individual and the community, and between the city and the nation.
Video-artist Adam Proctor has created a film that exploits the camera’s ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Its gaze lingers on the faces and places that make Aberdeen distinctive. Adam has been supported by a core group of active participants in exploring the living heart of the city. His film, projected onto the Gallery’s end wall, presents a powerful image of a changing city reflected in the faces of its inhabitants.
Robin Baillie, National Galleries of Scotland Senior Outreach Officer, said, “We’re very excited about presenting Aberdeen to the nation through our video portrait of its people. This exemplifies the National Galleries of Scotland’s belief in the power of portraits and our commitment to representing the cities and regions of Scotland in the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery. We’re helping to put a face to the place and showing the creative potential of the people of Aberdeen. The portrait can help keep a human image at the centre of a changing world.”
The project, part of the Vibrant Aberdeen Cultural Strategy, continues in Aberdeen until the end of the year, The project is continuing to develop and build on its success. It will be supported by the NGS, Arts Development team and the Common Good fund, culminating in an exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 11 February until 24 March 2012.
