“There’s only one thing that gives me more pleasure than art and that’s playing a really nice pass in football”, says Scottish artist Roddy Buchanan (*1965). In his work as an artist he combines the two. Hosted by SC1920 Oberhausen, a historical football club that in the summer, a year before its 100th anniversary, will vacate its premises due to local authority plans for the area, Buchanan will be staging two projects: The Hexagon Pitch on the club’s large ash-park and the exhibition Unofficial Envoy of the Tartan Army in the clubhouse. The Hexagon Pitch is no ordinary football field. Based on a concept by Situationist Asger Jorn, three teams will be playing against each other with three sets of goalposts. Visitors are invited to try it out for themselves and experience the game in a different way beyond the usual duality. In addition, there will be tournaments held in which members of different communities can compete and collaborate with one another.
The exhibition Unofficial Envoy of the Tartan Army shows–staged in the midst of the club’s documents and trophies, a site-specific selection of existing video works and photographic series. In a humorous way it confronts the emotions as well as the conventions and codes involved in football and art. The works frequently possess a personal connection to Buchanan’s own life. For example, in the photographic series Through the Looking Glass, debuting in Oberhausen, he’s presenting imagery dating back to the early days of Instagram that became his public diary where life as artist, footballer and parent were posted in celebration of the highs and lows following all forms of football from the professional to the parental, from the journalistic to the personal.
Thursday is game day! Official games on the three-sided Football field take place every Thursday at 7 pm
- Festival
The projects were developed as part of the exhibition Ruhr Ding: Territorien and were on display at the club grounds of SC 1920 Oberhausen from May 4—June 30, 2019.
