Gathering of strangers is a piece I missed off of my post about the trip to the Whitworth gallery; I don't know how when it was the most influential piece I saw at the gallery. I was drawn to the piece through its choice of colour and style. I like how the statement can have a number of meanings and it is open to interpretation from the audience. After visiting the gallery I did more research and found that the sign has been placed in numerous locations which causes the narrative to change slightly when moved.
"Coley’s text piece Gathering of Strangers oddly advertises the uncomfortable circumstances of an assembly of unrelated, unfamiliar people, implying a condition of contemporary global nomadicism. The multicoloured, fairground light bulbs evoke an amusement park attraction, yet the phrase they spell is a common idiom for Christian congregations or the Church itself, presenting a modern-day conflict between carnival and Lent. Like Coley’s camouflage churches, Gathering of Strangers questions how our environment is invested with meaning, how meaning shifts from one social context to the next, and how the values to which we aspire are reflected in the way we describe ourselves and the associations we make."
Taken from the the exhibition catalogue 'Take Me There (Show Me The Way)', Haunch of Venison, New York, 2009
Source:
http://studionathancoley.com/works/gathering-of-strangers
