Susan Collis

This is the first solo exhibition in Scotland by Susan Collis, an artist born in Edinburgh but now living and working in London. Playing on the fact of our newly finished gallery, Collis' exhibition may appear at first glance to be nothing more than the neglected aftermath of a previous show, or the half-finished installation of her own. Only closer scrutiny reveals that the screws 'left' in the walls are made of solid gold, their rawl plugs of precious turquoise and coral; that splatters on the dusty and battered broom in the corner have in fact been set with opals and diamonds, and that the white paint spilt on the wooden floorboards is actually inlaid mother of pearl. The age-old trick of trompe l'oeil is not usually employed for such humble things, and the witty poetry in Collis' work lies in the intense labour expended over many months to craft these precious and beautiful, but ultimately useless objects.