Tracks is an exhibition of new work by David Lemm using materials harvested from the tramline construction on Constitution Street to explore process, artefact and the built environment.
Alongside a piece of track itself, Lemm has focused on salvaged shuttering wood to produce sculptural reliefs and frame like structures, evoking town planning models and emulating construction techniques. These overlooked artefacts literally formed the streets we walk on and the works can be seen as an abstract investigation of our relationship with urban space.
Housed within these assemblages are impressions of the track, printed using a sliced scrap of track. These are presented at 1:1 scale as a symbol for both real and imagined travel, a modular building block or curious glyph, suspending understandings of what things are and what they might come to represent.
Drawn to the sculptural qualities of industrial components Lemm finds potential connections and resonances between objects which were being discarded as waste – celebrating process and embracing chance patina to produce palimpsest like compositions.
He reconsiders the seemingly mundane or disposable and applies new value to these remnants of urban development; materials which represent the making of infrastructure which has come at great cost to the community. Through physical investigation and considered play, these relics of the site are pieced together in new ways, echoing the archeological dig that preceded the construction and encouraging speculative narratives to emerge.
The project was awarded VACMA funding from Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council.
David Lemm is a visual artist based in Edinburgh. Through research led practice he works across various techniques in response to encountered environments and found materials, often using objects containing existing information and exploring ideas around communication, process and perception.
His approach regularly begins with site specific enquiry and he has been awarded several residencies, including the Jon Schueler Scholarship at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Skye and recent projects in Norfolk and Norway.
He has presented solo exhibitions Debris and Phenomena at Edinburgh Printmakers (2015) and Mapping King’s Cross, House of Illustration, London (2016) and has exhibited frequently at the Royal Scottish Academy, including Reduct: Abstraction and Geometry in Scottish Art (2020).
Recent commissions include public artworks in Lerwick, Edinburgh and Royal Brompton Hospital, London and he was selected for this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
David Lemm: Tracks Open daily 22 July – 7 August, 12 – 6pm at Good Vibes Studios, 153 Constitution Street, EH6 7AD
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