As exhibitions designer and
coordinator, Scott is part of the Collections team responsible for handling the
artworks and physically delivering the exhibitions at the Gallery.
He works closely with
curators, conservators, technicians and artists to develop the display and look
of the gallery spaces, as well as overseeing their installation… which can
involve anything from deciding where to hang a painting, to figuring out how to
secure 70 live goldfish into the passenger seats of a chartered plane!
What’s the best part
of your job?
The variety that comes
from working with art and artists is always really exciting and inspirational. I
think it's a real privilege to be part of what we do at the Gallery. Dealing
with such interesting and culturally significant items while collaborating with
talented people never really gets old.
What are the
challenges?
Beside the regular
practical and technical ones, working with content that many people, not just
the artist, are so passionate about is a pretty delicate exercise at times.
Concepts and practicality or ideal aesthetics don't always align, so
establishing that level of mutual trust required to come up with a compromise
that responds to everyone's needs can take a lot of work, particularly when
you're working off plans and drawings rather than with the actual piece in a
finished gallery space.
How do you want people
to react when they walk into a space you’ve designed?
It really depends on the
type of show and artwork we're displaying. Often the best exhibition design is
one that only a few people might notice. Generally if we've got it right I'd
hope visitors’ reactions and feelings will be driven by or at least align with
the art on display and what the artists or curators originally wanted to
communicate or provoke. Hopefully the exhibition design just helps this along a
bit, enhancing the experience.
Out of all the shows
you’ve worked on, which one(s) stand out as being your
favourite?
I definitely could never
pick one, that’s kind of like having to pick an all time favourite song and I'd
probably come up with a different answer each day of the week. There are some
like Yinka Shonibare MBE or For Keeps at the old NEW Gallery that
still stand out because I'm such a fan of the elegant and slickly produced art
that was in them.
With shows like the
Julian & Josie Robertson Promised Gift and Degas to Dalí it's
really humbling and memorable to be involved with such historically impressive
and valuable pieces, while others like the Walters Prize or some of our large
scale commissions are cool just because of the professional relationships and
processes it took to deliver them.
We've just opened Who Shot Rock
& Roll so of course that sticks out. I've always spent a lot of time
going to live gigs so there's a lot of stuff in there that interests me. Gail
Buckland (curator) and Roger Taberner (coordinating curator) were great to work
with, giving me a lot of freedom to have some fun with the design and
layout.
What are your
interests outside of work?
I've got three old
American cars that keep me entertained and poor when I'm not watching friends’
bands at some local dive bar. Actually, the only roadworthy car we've got at the
moment is a ‘77 Chevy Camaro with a bit of drag racing history; it makes grocery
shopping and running errands fun. Although they're gathering dust right now,
I've also got a ‘51 Chevrolet I've been restoring and customising for way too
long and a ‘51 Mercury Coupe which is more pile of rusty metal than vehicle at
the moment.
Messing around with them
in the garage is a good distraction if I'm getting too tied up in an exhibition,
but for me there's also a real similarity with the kind of form versus function
problem-solving and satisfaction I get from working on shows at the
Gallery.
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