Workshop with Duncan Marquiss: Analogy Loom

Every concept we have is a tightly packaged bundle of analogies. All we do when we think is to leap from one analogy-bundle to another — and, such leaps are themselves made via analogical connection, to boot. – Douglas Hofstadter

In 1942 the neuroscientist Charles S. Sherrington famously compared the human mind to an ​“enchanted loom”. In her 1976 installation Text & Commentary the video artist Beryl Korot made an analogy between the threads on her weaving loom and the lines that make up a video image. Led by artist Duncan Marquiss and taking analogical thinking as its focus, this workshop will use video as a framework for examining the human tendency to draw comparisons and think in metaphors.

Can an analogy be the subject of a film? How might the form and structure of a film mimic its subject matter? Through discussions and practical exercises Analogy Loom will consider how artists and filmmakers use analogies to generate ideas and devise new formal approaches by combining disparate topics, materials and processes.

Participants are encouraged to bring a video-camera or smart-phone with them to use during some short filming-exercises during this workshop. Laptops are also welcome for a short editing session on the second day. While these are welcome, they are not a requirement to take part. If you don’t have access to either a camera or smart-phone then please book your workshop place and email email hidden; JavaScript is required and we can organise equipment for you.

Analogy Loom was first held in March 2017 at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala, India, hosted by LUX Scotland, British Council and Kochi Biennale Foundation. With thanks to Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

Duncan Marquiss works with the moving image, drawing, writing and music. His practice is often driven by a search for patterns and connections between seemingly unrelated subject areas. He takes these analogies as starting points for process-led artworks that overlap disparate materials and cultural references. Marquiss has exhibited his films internationally, including presentations at the BFI London Film Festival; Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art; and Microscope Gallery, New York. He was the recipient of the Margaret Tait Award in 2015.