缅北禁地

Introduction:

Neil Bromwich works collaboratively with Zoe Walker, Artist and Lecturer at ECA, Edinburgh University.

Our work explores the space between what exists and what is possible. Within this liminal space we create objects and situations that lead our audience on transformative experiences inviting them to consider an other way of being. We ask participants in our work to examine their relationship to the environment they inhabit and reflect on a larger global situation. We are interested in arts potential to act as a catalyst for social and political transformation. At the heart of our work is the pursuit of an ideal and the question - is it possible for Art, and more particularly our practice to provide practical, aesthetic and poetic solutions to social political and environmental problems?

Our work crosses between the gallery space and the public realm; we use installations, social sculptures, and public performances as tools to open up a space where the possible and the actual come together. Here we can collectively begin to question the limits of society and imagine a better world. We believe that through experiencing something even for a moment can start a powerful process of change. We work in response to specific sites and communities drawing on an environment and its people to form the work. We employ a strong aesthetic language that keys into the popular imaginary as useful and effective communication tools from which a complex discourse unfolds, crossing boundaries both geographical, social and metaphorical. Through the playful nature of the work and engagement with of the process participants become involved in events and situations that open up discussion around subjects like the pursuit of happiness, open boarders, and the nature of belief. Our aim has been and is to exploit the power of this aesthetic language to its full potential as a catalyst for change in both localised communities and on a wider global scale.

Research Interests

Multi-disciplinary Collaborative Practice with Zoe Walker (Edinburgh University), Participatory Practice, Socially Engaged Practice, Live Art, Performance, Public Art, gallery installation and public event based works which includes video, sculpture and performance

Esteem Indicators

SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2025 Searching for a Change of Consciousness, exhibition, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, mid-career survey featuring: Encampment of Eternal Hope, Serpent of Capitalism, Llechi A Llafur// Slate or Slate and drawings

2024 An Act of Love, exhibition and socially engaged performance project collaboration with VASA fine art students and graduate community of ITB, Institute of Technology Bandung in collaboration with Tuturupa and Vasa. Public performance and exhibition at Soemardja Gallery, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), West Java, Indonesia

2024 Under the Bridge Water and Air. Socially engaged project connecting with communities working for environmental justice around the causes of Water and Air Pollution in Bandung, Indonesia and Glasgow Scotland in collaboration with Rakrasa Foundation, Bandung supported by British Council and Creative Communities, Glasgow Life.

2021-22 Serpent of Capitalism, solo exhibition at Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland

2021-22 Encampment of Eternal Hope, exhibition, live programme, participatory events hub and meeting place for indigenous delegates from Latin America with activists and communities in Scotland, commissioned by Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh for COP26 Glasgow. Presented at Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh and Briggait Glasgow. 'Possible Dialogues 2' a documentary of the project and conversations with indigenous leaders was presented with Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA) Colombia at Documenta15 Kassel, Germany

2021 The Shadow World, exhibition installation, Perth Museum and Gallery, Perth Scotland

2020-21 A Leap in to the Dark, exhibition sculpture and video installation, Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow

2020-21 Mosaic, film and socially engaged project with communities in North East Ward of Glasgow, at Glasgow International (GI) Arts Festival, and Creative Communities Glasgow

2019 Cosmic Spider, sculpture and participatory performance, commission for Super Normal Festival, Oxfordshire

2018 Serpent of Capitalism, sculpture, workshops and participatory performance for Roskilde Music Festival, Denmark

2018 Workers Maypole, public sculpture commissioned by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art for Great Exhibition of the North, 缅北禁地 upon Tyne

2017-8  Solo Exhibition, An Act of Participation, De Montfort University Gallery, Leicester

2017  Dragon of Profit & Private Ownership, Dragon of Profit and Private Ownership commission for Edinburgh Arts Festival (2017), A practice led project and solo exhibition researching the re-appropriation of mythological architypes in-order to examine the distribution of capital through arts practice, with accompanying Festival catalogue publication and essay.

2016-7 State or Slate, Penrhyn Castle, flagship National Trust site, North Wales. A practice led research project that extends existing fine art research around the role participatory art practice can play as an active agent in disrupting and transforming dominant narratives in heritage sites. Funded and facilitated by Trust New Art/National Trust and the Arts Council of Wales. 

2014 Orcadia and Other Stories, at Pier Arts Centre, Orkney extensive solo survey exhibition for Generation’ 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland. Practice based research into Walker & Bromwich's site responsive participatory practice as a tool for changing perception and impacting society. 

2012-18 Art Lending Library, a project with Market Gallery Glasgow, was commissioned for Glasgow International (GI) biennial art festival 2012, subsequently awarded prestigious ACE Strategic Touring in 2014, to tour areas of low art provision across England, Now in its 9th iteration as part of our solo exhibition at De Montfort University Gallery Leicester 2017-8. Practice led participatory project explores widening public access and impact of contemporary art 

2013 The Cult of Fortuna, National Museums Scotland, commissioned solo exhibition, Edinburgh, Scotland, practice-based research into public perceptions of luck and superstition through the participation of 250 members of the public in social sculpture 

2012-13 Encampment of Eternal Hope, commissioned solo exhibition, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK sculptural installation Practice based research explores how sculptural installation can facilitate debate and performance around sustainable future living, drawing together speakers and participants from Academia, Public and Not for Profit Agencies

2006-10 Panacea, a live multi-layered art event, that investigated the artist role within society and orthodox perceptions of art and medicine as cure-alls for society’s ills. The event toured to five high-profile galleries across the UK, including Tate Britain, Modern Art Oxford, CCA Glasgow, Baltic Gateshead, Milton Keynes Gallery, John Hansard Gallery Southampton, CCC Tours France. Le Parvis centre d’art contemporain, Tarbes, France, funded by Wellcome Trust Production Sci-Art Award and AHRC Grant for Creative and Performing Arts

2001-12 Celestial Radio, A practice led research project investigating the impact of site responsive social sculpture changing perception of place through disrupting invisible narratives. Various coastal sites nationally and internationally. Commissions include – MCA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 2012, Thessaloniki Biennale, Greece 2008, Turner Contemporary / Folkstone Triennial 2008, ATLAS Arts Skye Scotland 2011, funders including Australia Arts Council, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Creative Scotland, ACE, European Development Fund, Kent County Council, Essex Council.

OTHER SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2016   Public Work, Circus between Worlds, Glasgow International (GI) Arts Festival

2014   Solo Exhibition, The Eccentrics Banquet, Marion de Canniere Gallery, Antwerp

2014   Solo Exhibition, Game for Change, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, NGCA Sunderland

2013   Art School Anecdote, participatory performance, Centenary Commission, with Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS) and Australian National University (ANU) for The Australia Capital Centenary Celebrations, Canberra

2011   Public Work, Conch Sound Studio, SHE Scotland’s Housing Expo Inverness, and Highland Tour, Scotland

2009   Public Work, Bank of Reason, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh

2000   Exhibition, Portable Paradise, Economist Plaza, London

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2022 Documenta15 Kassel, Germany, 'Possible Dialogues 2' a documentary of the Encampment of Eternal Hope at COP26, conversations with indigenous leaders was presented with Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA) Colombia

2018       Llechi A Llafur// Slate or Slate, ArtHouses/Whitley Bay Film Festival, Whitley Bay, UK

2018       Od Arts Festival, Somerset, UK

2016       Monster Chetwynd’s Mega-Hammer2, Performance Gi2016 Launch, GSA Glasgow

2016       SOUTHEAST ASIA + Triennale, (SEA+) National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

2015   Mega Hammer, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s Open House, Glasgow, Scotland.

2014   Art Moves, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, curated by Adriana Marques, London

2014   Here Today, Old Sorting Office, curated by Artwise, London, alongside Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin, Carsten Holler

2014   Festival of Love, South Bank Centre, London

2014   The Second Life of Sculpture, GI Glasgow International, Glasgow

2012   Camouflage Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

2011   Dancing Borders London Artists' Films on the London Underground, London

2010   Outer Worlds, Contemporary Arts Society, Deloittes, Luxemburg City, Luxemburg

2009   Running Time – Scottish Video Art 1960 to Now, Scottish National Gallery of Contemporary Art, Edinburgh

2009   Tina B, The Prague Contemporary Art Festival, Prague, The Czech Republic

2009   Love Cannon & Siege Weapons of Love, Invisible Adversaries NGCA Sunderland

2009   Breakfast of Champions, Yinka Shonibare Space, Broadway Market, London

2009  One Day Sculpture, Dunedin, New Zealand 

2008   Becks FUSION, Love Cannon Parade, Manchester

2008   Nothing to Declare, Triennale of Contemporary Art 4 Oberschwaben, Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, Germany

2008   Parallax, Fieldgate Gallery, London

2007   Celestial Radio & Love Cannon, Big Chill Festival, Eastnor Castle, Malvern

2007   Love Cannon, Live Performance, SCOPE Special Projects Basel, Switzerland

2007   Locws International Wales, Live Event, Swansea, Wales

2006   Madame Arkwright’s Salons, Camden Arts Centre, London

2005   Weekending, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia

2004   Coast, Firstsite Gallery, Colchester

2003   Site-Seeing: A Disneyfication of Cities, Künstlerhaus, Vienna

2002   TV Swansong, live webcast, screened: Tate Liverpool, CCA, DCA, ICA, BALTIC

2002   My Father is the Wise Man of the Village, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh.

2001   The Great Escape, Grizedale, Cumbria, UK

2001   Urban Nomads, South London Gallery, London, UK

2001   Northern Exposure, Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland

2000   Exhibition, My Island Home, V&A Museum, London, UK

2000   Exhibition, Somewhere Special, ACCA, Melbourne, and CCA, Canberra, Australia

FELLOWSHIPS AND RESIDENCIES

2024      CAIRR Contemporary Artist in Residence and Research, Facility of Art and Design, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), West Java, Bandung, Indonesia

2019/25 Creative Communities Residency, Glasgow North-East Ward, commissioned by Glasgow Life in Partnership with Platform, Glasgow East Arts Company 

2016/7   Penrhyn Castle, Trust New Art Residency, funded by National Trust and Arts Council of Wales

2015    SA-UK Research Award, Nelson Mandela Legacy Project, hosted by UNISA Art Gallery, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Award funded by British Council & Dept of Culture South Africa

2014    Pier Arts Centre Residency, Generation, 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland, Orkney

2013    Canberra National Capital Centenary Fellowship, hosted by Canberra School of Art, Australian National University

2012    HIAP KIASMA Fellowship Helsinki, Helsinki International Artist Programme, Finland

2007  the Land foundation, Chang Mai, Thailand

2006   ComPeung, Chang Mai, Thailand, residency

2005    Résidences ateliers d'artistes des Arques, Le Lot, France

2005    Scottish Sculpture Workshops Research Residency, Aberdeen

2004    Art and Architecture Fellowship Programme, Keilder Waters, Northumberland

2001    Berwick Gymnasium Fellowship, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland

2001    Grizedale Arts, Residency, Cumbria

1999    International Artist in Residence, Gertrude Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Undergraduate Teaching

Undergraduate programmes on the Fine Art BA Stages 2-4.

Postgraduate Teaching

Postgraduate tutees and contribution to MFA seminar programme

• Artefact

  • Walker Z, Bromwich N. . Glasgow: Queens Park Railway Club, 2020.

• Exhibitions

  • Brown I, Anderson F, Bam R, Bromwich N, Burton A, Castle A, Clay R, Coupe J, Cuddon K, Easton T, Falecka K, Fox N, Grayson R, Hagan L, Huber C, Jones C, Juler E, Kennedy B, Kogelsberger U, Meikle G, Merrick P, Mieves C, Millican J, Moonie S, Pollard I, Pollock V, Servin E, Shaw T, Smith O, Szemán P, Talbot R, Tofield T, Weeks H, Weileder W, Wilson L, Wilson J. . 2024. 缅北禁地: Hatton Gallery, 2.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2018. Grey's Monument, 缅北禁地 City Centre and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead: Great Exhibition of The North; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, 1.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2018. Edinburgh, Leicester, 缅北禁地, Ashington, Internet: Edinburgh Art Festival; Edinburgh International Festival; De Montfort University Gallery, Leicester; Tyneside Cinema 缅北禁地; YMCA & Hirst Welfare, Ashington, 5.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2017. Bangor, North Wales; Machynlleth, Mid-Wales, Whitley Bay: National Trust Penrhyn Castle ; MOMA Wales; ArtHouses Whitley Bay Film Festival, 3.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2017. Darlington, Sunderland, Peterborough, East Durham including: Peterlee, Thornley, South Hetton, Leicester: Touring Various: Darlington Crown Street Library, East Durham Creates Festival, NGCA, Metal Peterborough, DMU Gallery, 80.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. An Act of Participation. 2017. Leicester: De Montfort University Gallery, 4. In Preparation.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2016. Caledonia Road Free Church, Gorbals, Glasgow: Glasgow International Art Festival, 35.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2014. Sromness, Orkney: Pier Arts Centre, 12.
  • Bromwich NJ, Walker Z. . 2013. Gateshead, UK: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, 13.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2011. Edinburgh Festival, Jupiter Artland, SHE Inverness Housing Expo, Thurso, Scrabster, Findhorn, Culloden, Culloden, Culbokie Black Isle, Nairn: Scottish Highland Tour, 1.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2009. Edinburgh, UK: Dean Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Contemporary Art, 1.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2009. Thessaloniki, Greece: Thessaloniki Centre of Contemporary Art, 1.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z, Bagnall D, Hyde A. . 2009. Quarantine Island, Dunedin: New Zealand Wide, 2.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2008. Margate Kent: Turner Contemporary, 7.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2008. Friedrichshafen, Germany; Bregenz, Austria: Zeppelin Museum, Germany; Künstlerhaus Thurn and Taxis, Austria, 2.
  • Bromwich N, Walker Z. . 2008. Gatehead, UK: Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art, 3.

• Performances

  • Bromwich N. . 2011. Thessaloniki, Isle of Skye, Folkestone, Margate, Whitstable, London and Jerusalem.
  • Walker Z, Bromwich N, Pinsky M, Down M. . 2010. London, Gateshead, Glasgow, Oxford, Southampton: Tate Britian, Baltic, CCA Glasgow, Modern Art Oxford, John Hansard Gallery.