In the Dim Light showcases a collection of sculpture and short film by Orcadian puppeteer, animator and model maker Mal Grieve. Currently based on the mainland of Orkney where they were brought up, Mal specialised in illustration at Glasgow School of Art and now works mainly in 3D with recent projects including elements of puppetry, stop frame animation and kinetic sculpture.
As well as being heavily influenced by the environment of Scotland, Mal takes a lot of inspiration from the small and the everyday. They enjoy making something special out of the mundane, telling stories and making odd contraptions to capture people's imaginations in weird and silly ways. This love of the little things can be seen in the sculptures on show in their In the Dim Light exhibition, the small and intricate characters, miniature sets, props and delicate objects requiring the viewer to get up close, explore and interact with the work.
Interactive shadow sculptures accompanying Mal’s short film Projections.
In their films Projections and Shadowbird and their accompanying sculptures on show at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Mal blends puppetry and film to take the viewer into different hand made worlds, into the earth and back in time.
Still from Shadowbird.
Following an art/science residency in Elgol, Projections uses shadow puppetry to explore the work of Palaeontologists studying fossils on the Isle of Skye. It portrays the ancient Mid Jurassic world that they are uncovering and the juxtaposition of the modern technology they use to study it, the dichotomy between the peaceful natural environment and the violent roar of the rock saws cutting through and extracting its stories. Also on show are the shadow sculptures used to create the film, small objects for the viewer to explore using a torch or the light from a mobile phone. You are encouraged to investigate these objects as though fragments of a forgotten world and find your own stories in the shadows.
Silhouette of a shadow casting sculpture from Projections.
The accompanying film, Shadowbird, started life as a touring live puppet show which Mal performed along with their father Dave Grieve at festivals across Europe including The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and The Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes in Charleville-Mézières, France. Shadowbird tells the story of a young space sailor who finds themself stranded on a planet inhabited only by shadows. Inspired by the song Fish and Bird by Tom Waits in which a bird falls in love with a whale, Shadowbird explores the idea of impossible love, of adventure, memory and yearning.
Still from Shadowbird.