Lucy Skaer: A Proposal for Mount Stuart (2013)
A Proposal for Mount Stuart is Skaer's first solo project in Scotland since her Turner Prize nomination and exhibition at Tate Britain in 2009. Skaer has recently returned to live in Glasgow after 4 years in New York.
Taking the neo-gothic architecture of Mount Stuart as an invitation to extend and respond, Skaer produces a series of sculptural interventions that grow from the visual language of the house. The sculptures connect the materials, gestures and forms of the house, improvising a contemporary interface to a historic setting.
Skaer cites John Ruskin’s observation that Gothic architecture places emphasis on innovation, not only on the part of the architect, but also on the improvisation of the maker; resulting in perpetual novelty.