Acts of Observation was a group show by artists and writers Ana García Jácome, Jeda Pearl, Abi Palmer and Simon Yuill. The exhibition spanned our entire site and was presented as a series of solo presentations, or ‘acts’, throughout our different buildings, spaces, and online.
Dynamic in form and content, the artists brought together present a diverse range of works including film, interactive installation, writing and architectural interventions. Acts of Observation directly questioned, contextualised and challenged how we negotiate institutional language and spaces, and how disability is represented. The participating artists articulate and politicise notions of recovery and offer visions of positive, inclusive futures.
Acts of Observation took its title from Jeda’s new series of poems commissioned by Collective for the exhibition. Visitors were invited to contemplate Jeda’s work on the viewing terrace where they can hear readings of the poems whilst looking out to over Edinburgh, or enjoy them via the film on this page.
The works thought through acts of observation and where they intersect with the Black or brown disabled body, science, archeoastronomy and the sublime. The profound and brilliantly observed poems ask: How are we observed? How do we observe ourselves? Which bodies are seen as sublime?
Jeda Pearl is a writer based in Edinburgh whose work is inspired by the ‘in between’, plus the hidden history, culture, and folklore of her ancestral islands, her work often explores the intersections of identity, belonging, secrecy and survival. jedapearl.com