An Indirect Exchange Of Uncertain Value
An Indirect Exchange of Uncertain Value (2011) is a major off-site project by collaborative artists Joanne Tatham & Tom O'Sullivan, developed for Fettes College as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The work comprises two large sculptural constructions — commonly referred to as the cat structure and the boot structure — built from plywood, timber, and painted surfaces, forming bold, graphic, totemic objects placed "against context" within the extensive grounds of the college.
These sculptural forms were created to question how meaning is constructed in relation to site, architecture, and institutional settings. Positioned in front of the imposing Victorian school building, the works bring issues of public vs. private space, the role of education, and the instrumentalisation of art within civic life into sharp focus.
Tatham & O'Sullivan's approach — described as dialectical, absurd, and intentionally contradictory — uses such sculptural interventions to unravel and reframe the conditions in which art is expected to function.
These sculptural forms were created to question how meaning is constructed in relation to site, architecture, and institutional settings. Positioned in front of the imposing Victorian school building, the works bring issues of public vs. private space, the role of education, and the instrumentalisation of art within civic life into sharp focus.
Tatham & O'Sullivan's approach — described as dialectical, absurd, and intentionally contradictory — uses such sculptural interventions to unravel and reframe the conditions in which art is expected to function.
