Field Work
Bo Lee and Workman
Bruton, UK
14.03.25 - 03.05.25
Field Work is an exhibition about a distinct moment in time in Jonathan Michael Ray's life, but it is also an archaeological dig through impermanence. In 2023, Ray spent a month on residency in Orkney and, as an artist who lives and works in Cornwall, the isles of Mainland, Hoy or Rousay at first offered a certain coastal familiarity. However, in his explorations across the sparse Scottish archipelago, a wealth of unforeseen inspiration was revealed. The discoveries he made while on Orkney have led to a body of work rooted to the culture of its unique landscapes, history, folklore, poetry, art and music. These newly conceived works, including wall-based sculpture, assemblage, drawing, and photography are brought together here for the first time.
Jonathan Michael Ray is a seeker of chance. His practice, firmly rooted in encounter, sees the gathering together of the various materials, artefacts and stories that he finds, in order to communicate the layered uniqueness of a place. Ray’s source material, accumulated like a Wunderkammer, is seemingly ancient and solid. But his work inaugurates diversified relationships that require us to think again. These are explorations in narrative through assemblage, where the slippages of time are made palpable. Everything is always changing; nothing stays the same.
Excerpt taken from In the Field: Uncovering the Work of Jonathan Michael Ray by Dr Matt Retallick. You can read the full essay here.
Included in the exhibition are two specially assembled vitrines, filled with artefacts on loan from the Gardemeles Museum. Situated on Sanday, one of the outer isles of Orkney, the museum archives an ever-growing collection of objects brought in and left behind by humans, sea and sky.
Many thanks to Rosey Priestman, founder of Gardemeles Museum, for her generous involvement in the exhibition, and to the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, Visual Arts Scotland and Pier Arts Centre for supporting the Orkney residency.
For more information and gallery contact click here.
More information about the Gardemeles Museum click here.
Images of exhibition by Jesse Wild.
