Nathan Coley
Coley examines how the values of a society are reflected in, and determined by its built
environment, addressing concerns such as the importance of place, the social value of
architecture and the meaning and relevance of contemporary monuments. In his work for
the Cove Park Portfolio, Coley applied two black inks to black paper to form a
'camoflague portrait' that seems to deny, and disappear into, its own existence.
The visibility of the print varies according to the viewer's position and the
light sources reflected on it. In doing this it transposes the language of his
recent paintings shown at Frieze Art Fair 2006 and in the sculptural models
and wall painting in his solo exhibition There will be no miracles here, at
Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, 2006. In its title and concept, the print also
alludes to military camouflage, linking to the context of Cove Park's location
near the nuclear submarine base Faslane. Coley's work, as part of As If By
Magic at the Bethlehem Peace Centre, was recently broadcast on Channel 4
and he installed a new public work in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in September 2006. He has been shortlisted for the 2007 Turner Prize, and will be exhibiting in Doggerfisher, Edinburgh, from 27 July to 15 September