Exhibition

Mac Collins | Open Code

16 Sep 2022 – 4 Nov 2022

Regular hours

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 – 18:00
Wednesday
10:00 – 18:00
Thursday
10:00 – 18:00
Friday
10:00 – 18:00
Saturday
10:00 – 18:00
Sunday
10:00 – 18:00

Free admission

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Primary

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Event map

The exhibition Open Code by Nottingham-born artist Mac Collins takes over Primary’s Reading Room. The installation features furniture, objects, and sculpture.

About

In March 2022, Open Code was commissioned by Harewood House, and firstly staged at the Harewood House Biennial within an 18th-century estate home as part of Radical Acts: Why Craft Matters. The wealth of the estate was amassed through the exploitation of enslaved people in the Caribbean. Collins worked alongside the archivist, in scrutinising the records and collections held by the estate. He was keen to explore the relationship between these conflicted spaces, and the Caribbean community now settled in the UK. As a popular location for the Windrush Generation, Nottingham now has a large Caribbean population.

Consequently, Collins undertook a research-based residency at New Art Exchange (NAE), Nottingham. During his residency, he explored his heritage as part of the Jamaican diaspora, engaging with community figures and groups living in Nottingham. He met with Premier League Dominoes, a Caribbean dominoes club held at the Lime Kiln pub in Hucknall. As a popular game in Jamaica, dominoes now hold a significant position within British Jamaican culture. The game is played in many ways, with rules and nuances that differ from the European game. Principally, competitive Jamaican dominoes is played in teams, with a theatrical level of charisma, vigour, and bravado. He found the action of observing and playing Jamaican dominoes, in an English pub, to be a profoundly British experience.

Within certain variations of Caribbean-style dominoes, ‘Open Code’ refers to the system of subtle gestures exchanged between teammates. These slight shifts in body language become coded clues to indicate the dominoes in their possession without using spoken language. The exhibition Open Code by Mac Collins nods to shared truths and realities. At Primary, this iteration features a newly staged installation, including a sculpture which has never been shown. The exhibition seeks to portray the significance and permanence of the Jamaican presence within British society.

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Mac Collins

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