Monument consists of bound copies of the Stirling Journal and Advertiser running from 1852 to 1968, representing over 100 years of continuous publishing. This bulk of newsprint, stacked in piles, is presented as testament to the endeavour of local publishing and a measure of time.
Monument is the second exhibition at The Changing Room’s new location in Stirling’s Tolbooth. It launches a season of
exhibitions exploring the unique architectural and civic history of our new gallery space by positioning work by
contemporary artists in the new context. The interconnected rooms that form the gallery date back to late 17th century
with the current interiors dating from 1820 and 1860 respectively.
Monument consists of bound copies of the Stirling Journal and Advertiser running from 1852 to 1968, representing over
100 years of continuous publishing. This bulk of newsprint, stacked in piles, is presented as testament to the endeavour
of local publishing and a measure of time. 2008 marks the 500th year since Chepman and Myllar produced the first
printed book in Scotland. Monument comes as an oblique commemoration to this long history of publishing. Another
work in the exhibition Licence to Print / Licence to Read refers directly to this event making the link between the first
licence to print issued by King James IV and the resulting access to information that this allowed.
A group of related works in the exhibition use sculpture, text and photography to extend the artist’s interest in the ways
we measure, quantify and categorise things. Bellingham is an established Scotland-based artist whose work is rooted in
ideas and language.
He uses text and images from found and familiar objects to make concise and poetic works, often
humorously inverting our pre-conceptions of things so that we see them anew.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of FRESH FRUIT + TABLES a new book by David Bellingham to be distributed
free of charge to selected libraries in September 2008 as part of Off The Page Stirling book festival.
PRIVATE VIEW
Saturday 13 September 5 - 7pm. All welcome.
The Tolbooth
Jail Wynd, FK8 1DE - Stirling
Gallery Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm
Admission Free but tickets must be booked in advance.