Elbowroom
Until February 14; Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow

“If my voice was proper they’d listen”, proclaims the embroidered letters on a sparkly piece of clothing. A nearby video shows the noiseless screams of a succession of women, the sound only occasionally getting through. Although they have been victims of violence, domestic abuse and rape, their cries for help were ignored because they were involved in prostitution.

Over the past eight months, four artists have been working with dozens of women and children in Glasgow who have suffered violence and abuse. The result, Elbowroom, gives them a chance to be heard.

Little leaflets offer us personal insights into the world of prostitution – sore feet and unexplained disappearances. We are reminded of the fear that children can suffer at the hands of their own flesh and blood, by a superhero’s caped costume. Next to it, a mock news story explains that Childman rescues families from their terrifying Dads.

It’s not all doom and gloom. At the crumbling sixties high-rises of Red Road, women come together to play for the video camera. With hula hoops, balls, kites and skipping ropes, there’s lots of laughing and a sense of freedom which is tinged only by the occasional scream sneaking through from the video work mentioned above.

As with much art today, the process of making is arguably more important than the finished product. While many women have taken the opportunity to articulate the problems which face them, the Red Road group took hold of their territory for a few happy hours and had fun in it. It would be nice to think that they’re back out there today, still playing with their hula hoops.

“If my voice was proper they’d listen”, that t-shirt said. Its creator meant that as a prostitute she was not considered to be a proper victim, but the words find new resonance in Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art. Is the voice of a non-artist “proper” in a contemporary art gallery context?

The women in Elbowroom have a lot to say, and we have a lot to learn from them about fear, resilience and solidarity. But all the same, it’s a bit of a conundrum for an art critic. It seems wrong to unleash the usual set of critical rules, but on the other hand this exhibition is the brainchild of four serious artists who have committed themselves to participatory art.

Maybe, for a change, I should just shut up and listen.

Catrìona Black, Sunday Herald 09.01.05