"Virus"

It is just as well that we don’t discard our house fixtures and fittings like this when we want to redevelop our homes. Much of these come from the former Dick Vet School when it moved to newer premises in 2011 and the Summerhall building was taken over as a centre for arts. It is called Virus

Mexican artist Antonio O’Connell introduces his installation piece that can be seen on the front of the Summerhall building. Like an explosion of colours and pieces, O’Connell’s work brings an element of spontaneity and disorder to an ordered and constructed piece of architecture. This duality is at the core of O’Connell’s work as he comes from an architectural background, but explores the contrasting characteristics of architecture. Much of the materials used in this piece come from Summerhall itself, therefore infusing this new work with the history of the building.

This evening the winner of the annual Turner Prize for contemporary art is announced. I haven’t seen the entries but am sure that they will be controversial and not what I consider to be art. Memorable winners were Damien Hirst with his shark in formaldehyde and Tracey Emin’s dishevelled bed. I think this Virus sculpture will be far less controversial than the winner’s.