Thursday, May 24, 2012

Art and arson on the Scottish border


Douglas Gordon is making his first ever film in England, albeit within sight of his native Scotland. The End of Civilisation centres on shots of a grand piano burning in a dip in the fellside. "A piano started to represent for me the ultimate symbol of western civilisation. Not only is it an instrument, it's a beautiful object that works as a sculpture but it has another function entirely", he says. "I wanted to do something with a piano in a landscape of some significance and I suppose as a Scotsman, there's nothing more significant than the border." Read more...
Image: Douglas Gordon's burning piano at Talkin Head