Mach goes Commando in Ullapool
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ONE of Scotland’s best known sculptors and installation artists is to stage an exhibition of his work in Ullapool.
Turner Prize nominee David Mach will exhibit at the An Talla Solais gallery in a show inspired by the comic books of his childhood.
Mach goes Commando will open on Saturday at An Talla Solais’s recently opened gallery in The Caledonian Hotel on West Argyle Street.
It will run daily from 10am to 5pm until September 6.
The Fife-born artist has plundered the long-running Commando comic books published by DC Thomson which he collected as a child and reassembled them to produce more than 50 collage pieces which both celebrate and rework the original.
David Mach believes that Commando, with its gung-ho action stories, includes artwork of such exceptional quality that it made a lasting impression on him.
He said: "In Scotland we expect drawing standards from our ‘comics’ that other nations aspire to in their Fine Art. The Italian Renaissance had the Borgias, Scottish illustration has the Thomsons.
"I think I was really affected by the drawing! The quality of the drawing in all of these comics and publications was really high. DC Thomson’s artists were of an exceptionally high calibre. That company went to a lot of bother to produce their comics. They were inspirational and are still inspirational now." Mach is renowned for his large sculptures, installation pieces and public works.
His welded-steel Big Heids gaze out across the M8 motorway and the 130ft Brick Train in Darlington is a colossal celebration of the city’s railway heritage.
Rachel Grant, exhibitions co-ordinator at An Talla Solais, said the show can be enjoyed by young and old alike.
"We’re delighted to welcome this exhibition to the Highlands," said Rachel.
"It has a really broad appeal. Many will remember Commando fondly from their childhoods but the work also introduces a new generation to these much-loved comics in a way that is fresh, playful and inventive."
David Mach will also visit Ullapool in August to give a public talk on his creative process at the newly-opened Ullapool Ferry Terminal and to hold two collage workshops for pupils at Ullapool High School and for adults.
His talk will be held at Ullapool Ferry Terminal on August 20.
Tickets are £3 or free for under-18s.
