Glasgow-based visual artist Stephen Sutcliffe (born Harrogate, 1968) is currently showing work at Talbot Rice Gallery as part of Edinburgh Art Festival. The exhibition, ‘Sex Symbols in Sandwich Signs‘, is one of the Festival’s highlights and runs until  27 August 2017. In collaboration with Glasgow-based Director Graham Eatough, Stephen is also showing new work at The Whitworth, Manchester. This exhibition, ‘No End to Enderby‘, is part of the Manchester International Festival and marks the 100th birthday of author Anthony Burgess.
Stephen took part in Cove Park’s 2005 summer residency programme, working on site for one month. Since then, he has travelled to Cove Park on a number of occasions, visiting other artists in residence and taking part in events organised as part of the visual arts programme. His month-long residency came at a key point in his early career, following an acclaimed series of video screenings and at a time when he was working on his first solo exhibitions in London and San Francisco. Recalling his time on residency, he has said:
‘My favourite thing about Cove Park is the chance you have to meet people from different disciplines. I can remember talking to poets, film-makers, authors and theatre directors. Some people I have worked with since my stay were also residents at one time or another and they benefited too from this broader society of artists. I love listening to talks and presentations and some of the best ones I can remember were at Cove Park, whether they were given by the residents or by invited guests.The other thing I remember is the quiet. And how it was a good place to read, research and plan new works. My most memorable moment was when a Hungarian poet (András Forgách), who was a friend of Genet’s, demonstrated that you can get 41 extra drops of wine from an empty bottle if you are patient enough.’
Stephen works primarily in moving image and uses material gathered from his own and other archives of British television, film, sound, broadcast images and spoken word recordings. His interests centre around aspects of British culture and identity and his films have been described as ‘… melancholic, poetic and satirical amalgams which subtly tease out and critique ideas of class-consciousness and cultural authority.’ Since 2005, his work has been shown widely throughout the UK and internationally and he was the recipient, in 2012 of the prestigious Margaret Tait Award and, in 2015, of a Contemporary Art Society Award.
Image: Stephen Sutcliffe, ‘Sex Symbols in Sandwich Signs’, (2017), Installation view, Talbot Rice Gallery