Commonwealth Suite

About

Commonwealth Suite, features two new Collective film commissions by Jordan Baseman and Henna-Riikka Halonen. Both artists were commissioned to make new work relative to the Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh. The pool was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games at a time when Edinburgh was re-imagining itself. The exhibition Commonwealth Suite marks the pools' closure for refurbishment in June 2009. Jordan Baseman's film a hypnotic effect centres on an interview with Ian, a veteran gym user. The interview is a personal and intimate account of his connections between his life with visits to the leisure complex. The narrative and visual elements both discombobulate and demonstrate themes of loss and regeneration. Henna-Riikka Halonen filmed a re-interpretation of 'The Bathhouse', the 1930's Constructivist play, which satirises state bureaucracy. Henna used the parallels between the content, title and visual resemblance of the theatre set and the RCP's diving platforms as a starting point for her commission. Edinburgh Junior Diving Club members perform as actors.