The Shaman, The Hermit and The High Priestess

At The Suttie Art Space, Aberdeen

The Shaman, the Hermit and the High Priestess are more than just alter egos created by Mike Inglis, Charis Edward Wells and Graeme Roger. Underlying their practices, ad-hocist construction, film poems and performance, lies a common thread as they each examine what it means to be artist as an observer in contemporary society. The artists all inhabit a position which is both rooted in a mythic past and also in an uncertain future. Each uses this alternative present to project forward thoughts and ideas that combine shamanistic ritual with science fiction allowing us to see our alternative futures through the cloudy lens of mysticism.

The artists in this exhibition have been commissioned by Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust (GHAT) to be involved at points in a two-year project titled Resonate:Disseminate. The project is based at both Inverurie Community Hospital and Dr Gray’s in Elgin – it is now in its second phase and will run until late 2018 – and was formed to engage the following ideas:

– What is the potential of a hospital as a public building to be a cultural focal point?

– What is the potential of arts practice in a hospital to create positive cultural engagement opportunities for the visiting public?

– How can we create a programme of arts delivery in community healthcare facilities which challenges the perceived model of an arts organisation within hospital accommodation?

This exhibition has been formed from the artists’ initial impressions of the physical environment of these two sites, and their thoughts around the potential outcome of the project as it becomes more embedded across the two venues over the upcoming 18 months.