Carole Scott & Alban Low - We're Still Here Klee

We're close to culmination and with the beginning of the end in sight we make a U-turn on our more historic backdrop sites for our worthy artists and return to the highly esteemed institution of the 'Great

A step in the 'right' direction -
Carole Scott is Bankside

Tate' - Modern that is! And today's pairing is an interesting contrast in the sense of the oldest featuring artist, no offence Alban, is being

Please release me - Alban Low
in the Tate toilets

released alongside another new face to our growing ranks; Carole Scott. Again we have two very different styles of artwork and with individual ways of weaving in their Social Advent message in response to the Cardboard City callout. We've released Carole Scott righteously as part of the advertising for one of the local Southbank Galleries, pointing all visitors to observe her work ahead of anything else they might be expecting to see…While my co-curator and fellow artist has taken the liberty of installing his latest release in the very heart of any aspiring artists site of envy - the Tate Toilet. I was not privy to the details of this particular release and

Snow Flake in Klee Minor - by Carole Scott

it's not my place to ask - there are some things that still remain sacred, even amongst artists.

Carole Scott as I mentioned is a new artist to our collective but I have had the privilege to have known her for a few years now. With a diverse range of skills and experimentation Carole never ceases to offer new ways of merging media, be they from her earlier experiences as a water colourist to more

weighty undertakings with mixed media her inventiveness always shines through as she seeks for appropriate representation for her message to be conveyed. In this case the message was inspired in part by an acclaimed

Opening the door on Carole Scott

artist showing within the walls of the Tate currently; Paul Klee, taking his interpretations of colour subtleties and geometric form to answer our own brief and merge the ideals of a wintery white Christmas with clean hard lines of an
overarching cityscape. Carole's ideology here finds resonance with the perfect and unique way that snowflakes find a way to combine and merge despite their individualities - a parallel that could fit well as an answer to some of our more pressing social and cultural issues.

Clear-up mission - Alban stakes out one of Southbanks
finest as he pockets some of our releases for his own collection!

Alban Low needs no introduction - but you're going to get one anyway pal: the man behind the Fridge Magnet phenomena has exponentially fuelled a number of successful community interventions; Freezechester, Future Bound, Freedbook, Lite Bite and many, many more exhibitions have in turn made inclusive art a reality amongst many of todays proof ridden showcases by inviting artists from all over the word to take part in uniquely themed collaborations with very few constraints and often completely open interpretations of the callout brief - only stopping the press if basic moral or ethical rights are threatened. Albans final offering to our Social Advent is true to form with its lean towards narrative and comic strip reference - once again we are presented with a strong moral or life message but which one?

Still Here - by Alban Low

Half the enjoyment for me when introduced to one of Alban's new works is in the interpretation - anyone who knows the artist will be aware of his dry wit and herein lyes the challenge and potential threat of not quite reaching the tenacious artists depths of irony, like Chaucer, there are several layers to peel away before getting to the kernel…engagement in a nut shell!

'Still Here' is no exception the above and with a direct dialogue between two individuals and very different views on the connotations of their situation we are left to ponder the unwritten sub-

Open the toilet door on Alban Low

script but with the imposing image of a multi story building dividing perspectives you can bet he's kept his observations close to the cardboard city brief.

Join us tomorrow as the man himself writes up the last of our Cardboard City's Social Advents and our final walk down what has become a very familiar backdrop to our collaborative community exhibition.

Keep em' peeled!

SJS