Janice McNab

THE PHILOSOPHER’S RIDGE. New works by Janice Mcnab, written by Petra Heck, Independent Curator, Montevideo, Amsterdam (2006)

The Scottish painter Janice McNab (b. 1964) -who lives and works in Amsterdam- describes her painting series as “projects”. Thus, she undertook such a project about flotation tanks, “The Tank Paintings” (2003), where instead of the rest and relief that these luxury items were meant to create, the result is more evocative of a coldness and banality. She also painted a series of abandoned aeroplane seats. By painting the seats tightly crammed in, McNab compressed everyday objects to their essence. No place in the world is unreachable, but the price is sitting for hours crammed into a tiny space with too many other passengers and bad food. The recent "Chocolate Box Paintings" (2005) refer to both enslaved consumption and romantic landscapes, simultaneously evoking science fiction-like environments. McNab uses many obvious elements from daily life in her work and works these into her painting as both recognisable yet totally alienating images.

During a studio visit, Janice McNab firstly showed me a new series of five works on paper. A white edge and the framing makes it clear that these works were meant to be snapshot-like, thus betraying the origin of the images. The original photographs were taken by McNab herself. She has given the works a white framework to build in a sort of filter, a necessary distance from the theme and the location. It's as if the artist had never been there.

The first painting "Philosopher's Ridge" (2006) depicts a scene, viewed from a great distance, in which a small group of people peer into a crater. The title refers to the name of a hiking path one can follow on the volcano Mount Etna. The legend goes that a sage, Pliny the Elder, dived into the boiling crater to reach the tragic conclusion that he could not fly. The work shows the viewer abstracted patterns of smoke or clouds with little figures that peer into the depths from the safe distance of the path.

Other works on paper depict scenes from nearer. Out of the darkness, we see individuals from behind, high-lit by a light source. We can't see very well what is unfolding. Is it an innocent view, a natural volcanic eruption, an oil fire or bombardment? Or maybe a religious vision? Some of those present clearly wear helmets. But are they oil workers, soldiers or tourists?

In the forthcoming exhibition there are additionally four large paintings on MDF. Two of them depict smoke; lots of smoke. What is clearly different in these works is the heightened abstraction. It is no longer possible to gain any overview of the setting; there is no visible background and no horizon to recognise. At the same time, there is a noticeable slanting fold in the middle, as if the image had been photographed from a book and subsequently painted. Because the action here is shown so literally, the drama needed to be reduced. Therefore McNab has built in an extra medium -that of the book- as a filter. As in many of her works the spectator is constantly reminded by the realistic character of the paintings of the fictitious nature of the painted surface.

The second painting, "Centrefold" shows the middle pages of a magazine with a depiction of an enormous explosion. There is a strange double layer to this painting, as if the centrefold additionally aims for a confusing Rorschach experience. That mirrored imagery that appears in many psychological tests is used here as a motif by McNab not to bring a clearer understanding of something unfamiliar but instead to bring abstraction and distance to the familiar and to initiate a discussion about the nature of representative images.

The last two paintings in the exhibition do not conjure up any immediate associations with action but show the abstract pattern of the roof of a glasshouse and two glowing headlights in the pitch dark, respectively. But, at the same time, these apparently unrelated works actually have a lot to do with each other. The motif is one of not being able to see something: the headlights blind and the glare reflected in the glass makes a clear view impossible. McNab's work makes the viewer aware of the manner in which things and actions are seen and shown and forces us to think about the representation of images and forms.

JANICE MCNAB Born, Scotland, Lives and works in Amsterdam Solo Show at Grusenmeyer Gallery, Deurle April 2007 Solo Show at The Agency, Nov/Dec 2006

Solo shows ( Selection)

2006 The Agency, London 2005 The Chocolate Box Paintings The Changing Room, Stirling* 2004 Janice McNab Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh

Janice McNab in Drum Castle. Part of Oak trees and Fountains, a site specific project in and around Drum Castle, Aberdeenshire 2002 Friends and Enemies Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin The Greenock Factory Project Tramway Project Space, Glasgow 2001 The Chemical Sensitivity Project Laurent Delaye Gallery, London Janice McNab Doggerfisher, Edinburgh The Irvine Family Project Space, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh 1999 Anxiety The Collective Gallery, Edinburgh 1996 Little Triggers The Assembly Gallery, Glasgow School of Art 1989 Looking for the Monkey Collective Gallery, Edinburgh ( denotes publication)

Group shows ( Selection)

2006 Mise en Scene. MAMA, Rotterdam. Beach. The Agency, London. Hollyrood. Attic Salt Gallery, Edingburgh. Gastrophoria. The Pump House Gallery, London Colourists to Contemporary: Still-life painting from the Collection The Fleming Collection, London

Janice McNab