Oliver Braid / David Hoyle and Lee Baxter / Maayke Schurer / Patrick Staff / Tether / Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould
Oliver Braid / It’s Our Playground
In 2011, Oliver embarked on a mission to develop relationships with the five most attractive young male undergraduates from the Glasgow School of Art. The documentation and interpretation of these encounters formed the basis for My Five New Friends. French artist/curatorial team It’s Our Playground worked alongside Oliver on this journey to build an online database housing the archive of his relationship documentation.
The developing narratives documented during this process were further interpreted by five selected film artists given private access to the evolving online database for five months leading up to the exhibition. Their engagement acted as an online residency and the culmination of which was the newly commissioned short films made in response to the monitored relationships.
The exhibition at The Royal Standard juxtaposed the films alongside meticulously handcrafted gift objects created by Oliver – one for each of his new friends – presented in an installation environment designed by It’s Our Playground.
Supported by The Hope Scott Trust, Arts Trust Scotland and Glasgow Visual Artist Award.
