Scott Myles - Head in a Bell

A new exhibition of painting, sculpture, print, moving image and sound by Scott Myles, through which the artist examines ideas of exchange and circulation.

At the heart of the exhibition is Instrument for the People of Glasgow, a social sculpture comprised entirely of donations from Eurorack synthesizer manufacturers from many different countries.

Myles views his action of asking ‘a little, from a lot of people’ as an egalitarian model of economic organisation. His artistic strategy is applicable to other contexts and scenarios, for example politics. In the spirit of this gifting model, Myles has produced a poster detailing all the donations, with printed copies free to take away by visitors. At the close of the show Myles will donate the instrument to Glasgow Library of Synthesized Sound (GLOSS), the UK’s first electronic musical instrument library.

The exhibition features a collaboration with artist Oscar Prentice-Middleton. Myles and Prentice-Middleton have attached sensitive geophone microphones, which detect vibrations, to the gallery’s hidden air-exchange system. Wires physically connect the concealed plant room to Instrument for the People of Glasgow in the public gallery, creating a new live sound work that reacts to GoMA’s infrastructure. Head in a Bell invites viewers to consider unseen aspects of our institutions, forms of organisation, companionship and the climate emergency.

Installation view, Scott Myles, Head in a Bell, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, 2024.
Courtesy of The Artist and The Modern Institute/ Toby Webster Ltd., Glasgow.
Photo: Patrick Jameson