Fri–Sun 12.30-17.30
Wed/Thu by appointment only
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Perfect Friends unfolds as a series of 42 intimate portraits, each composed from men’s shirts once worn and given by friends, friends of friends, and acquaintances. Cut into fragments, the fabric is mounted on wooden stretchers and laboriously hand-sewn, transforming into a delicate, skin-like surface.
Perfect Lovers extends this dialogue into love. This series of ten diptychs portrays gay couples and long-time companions, also crafted from gifted shirts. Here, fabric becomes witness: threads and seams binding together the intimacies of affection, loyalty, and shared life.
His artworks have been included in exhibitions throughout the UK, Europe, America, and Japan, and he has been the recipient of several awards and residencies. Cruikshank’s artistic practice spans an array of media with distinct series bracketed according to support - with the collective factor being the addition and subtraction of medium - all completed with a meticulous finish.
Taking landscape as an initial starting point, Cruikshank’s paintings are not about literal representation, instead the focus is on the emotive qualities of place. Using an objective palette tied to the Scottish landscape, colour acts as a vehicle to reveal the picture planes underlying points of reference; with the works being grounded in the everyday, the viewer is encouraged to readdress notions of their surroundings, where the familiar is opened up and made full of possibility.
