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00:21 My name is Graham Ramsey.
00:22 My name is John Beagles. We're Beagles and Ramsey.
00:25 We've been working together since 1997.
00:28 It's a collaborative duo.
00:30 We met when we were on the MFA course at Glasgow School of Art.
00:34 Yeah, we continue to live and work in Glasgow.
00:36 We've got a studio in the East End, just 10 minutes from Goma.
00:39 So this is like one of our, this is our biggest kind of hometown show for us.
00:43 Fantastic. So we're actually standing in Goma right now.
00:45 Can you just tell us a little bit about what's around us?
00:48 Yeah, I mean the basic idea is that this place is set up like a flagship store
00:53 for a kind of fashion brand.
00:56 And it's kind of the fashion brand is an extension of other work that we've made over the past 25 years together.
01:02 We've had to set up different kinds of companies and fronts and fictitious kind of companies.
01:07 The majority of the figures on the floor are made of recycled wood.
01:11 We've been sourcing for the past probably two years actually.
01:14 So a lot of this is from office clearances and other assorted places.
01:20 The recycle section in B&Q.
01:23 Yeah, it's lots of stuff from like offices, from like workplaces.
01:27 Things that were also used in like shop display in the past as well.
01:30 So we've taken all those materials and reworked them into kind of,
01:33 we've taken flat pack furniture basically, and then we've reworked it into flat pack figures.
01:38 Have you found a lot of that material just with all the high street shops and the closing down and stuff,
01:42 is that something you've been thinking about?
01:44 Yeah, it sort of grows out of a previous work we did when, I suppose, pre-COVID,
01:50 when there did seem to be a lot of shops and offices kind of going bust or closing down
01:54 and there was a lot of wood floating around.
01:57 But that kind of interest in recycling has kind of been something we've been interested in anyway for a while.
02:01 Yeah, well this is the biggest show that we've done in 25 years of working together.
02:06 So yeah, I mean it was a kind of real sort of step up in terms of ambition
02:10 and the complexity of working with a space like this is a very kind of complicated space to work with.
02:14 So we were planning this for about three or four years.
02:17 We were going to use the space, try and use it to its best advantage.
02:20 So we're kind of trying not to fight against the architecture but kind of use it.
02:23 So we're using quite a lot of the height of the space, we've got pieces suspended from the ceiling,
02:28 and we tried to use quite dramatic theatrical lighting to kind of sort of create a certain kind of atmosphere.
02:33 I think also in relation to GOMA, it's a space that we've had a kind of long term relationship with.
02:39 We've shown it before in group shows.
02:42 And it's a space that we kind of like a lot as well because it's got a very sort of distinct identity.
02:47 So in the exhibition there's three different collections.
02:50 So we have a kind of capsule collection in one section with a boutique, a pop-up boutique built for that.
02:55 Then we have another collection called the Zero Collection, which is like hybrid sports workwear,
03:00 lots of colourful technical fabrics.
03:02 And then finally we have the kind of catwalk behind us with like four couture pieces on the catwalk.
03:07 So it has a sense of, classic sense of like pop-up boutique meets flagship scale.
03:11 I mean it's two years of like very much hands-on work.
03:14 So yeah, thousands and thousands of hours of making.
03:17 I mean just that one ball gown behind us is dozens and dozens of hours just to make that one piece.
03:23 Setting the lights, setting the position of all the figures, styling them up.
03:27 So they've all got these, they're all wearing lanyards, they've often got bags.
03:30 All these bags are handmade, handmade specially.
03:33 So we've spent a lot of time doing that kind of accessorising as well, in true fashionista style.
03:38 It's here, it's done. How are you feeling?
03:40 Tired.
03:41 [Laughs]
03:43 Yeah, we're really happy with it.
03:45 Yeah, everything's worked out well.
03:47 I mean there's a few surprises, you know, some things look a little bit different from what we expected,
03:51 but I think generally, yeah we're very pleased with the way it's worked out.
03:54 Yeah, there's been a few mistakes, but some of them are kind of interesting mistakes.
03:57 So one time we were making one of these figures with the CNC router,
04:00 which is a computer controlled cutting machine.
04:03 The machine went crazy at one point and started cutting a big gouge through the head of one of the figures.
04:08 So when we went to collect it, we were quite apologetic.
04:11 We were sorry that this figure had a big gouge, but actually we kind of liked it.
04:14 And that's the picture we've used for the poster for the show.
04:17 Beagles and Ramsey, thanks for your time.
04:20 Thank you.
04:21 My name is Martin McSheffery-Craig, I'm the Curator of Modern Contemporary Art here at Glasgow Museums.
04:25 We're in the Gallery of Modern Art and the new exhibition just opened up by Beagles and Ramsey,
04:30 two artist duos that are based in Glasgow.
04:33 The exhibition by Beagles and Ramsey is a kind of fantasy, fictitious installation about a fashion brand that they've opened up.
04:43 So we've got a couple of capsule collections and then behind me you can see the couture catwalk.
04:48 And we've got these sculptural figures that are around that are in to see the fashion brand,
04:54 but then also start to become a bit rebellious and start taking over the place.
04:58 So the public can come and have a wee look around with the sculptures and see and experience what it feels like to be in this installation.
05:07 So this is a really brilliant exhibition for GOMA, especially after the run that we've just had with Elizabeth Price and then Banksy.
05:13 But now we've got two hometown artists that have really taken a big swing and produced an amazing installation in here that I think the public is going to love.
05:23 So it's great after having that summer that we're back, we're focusing on Glasgow based artists and really looking forward to the public coming and enjoying this.
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