Spatial Provocation, A Dundonians Experience in Contemporary Art: Harry Scott, Interior Design

Photos: Jack McNab

From working a dead-end job in hospitality to securing a role at the Venice Biennale, Interior Design Student and Dundonian Harry Scott says art has given him both a form of escapism and a means to express his working-class identity with confidence and flair.

For Scott, art has always been a vehicle for self-expression and escapism. Despite this, his pursuit of his degree – and eventually a career in the arts – was delayed by the expectation that he does something “more conventional”. Before entering tertiary education, Scott spent years working gruelling hours in hospitality across Dundee.

“I was expected to work in kitchens 60 hours a week,” he says.

When asked about what made his pursuit of higher education possible, Scott credited Scotland’s system of free university tuition.

“We’re allowed to just pursue education as a fundamental right,” he added.

Scott says that throughout his time at DJCAD, he often felt pressured to soften aspects of his working-class background when interacting with peers.

“I had to at times… bring myself down to a more neutral level of communication,” he says. “The way I naturally speak is still, to this day, not considered appropriate when it comes to [communicating in] academic and professional settings.”

Despite this, Scott says he never allowed this feeling to change the identity reflected through his work, describing his Dundonian background as central to both his art, and creative philosophy.

Scott’s project, Spatial Provocation: EVO-GEN2631, uses biomechanical sculpture to explore themes of industrialisation, religion, and identity. Drawing inspiration from gothic architecture, science fiction, and anatomical forms, his work explores the relationship between humanity and technology in our modern world.

“How do you use human anatomy […] and translate that to something that the contemporary industrial mind can understand,” he says.

Despite its overarching philosophical themes, Scott’s work also explores his own working-class Dundonian identity, with a depiction of a whale and a distorted human ribcage being used to represent Dundee’s whaling and industrial heritage.

“I want people to know I’m from Dundee,” he added.

Scott is set to work at the 61^st Venice Biennale as an exhibition associate under the Scottish Pavilion. After returning he hopes to continue his studies at a postgraduate level with aspirations of either going into doctoral research or establishing his own practice.

His work is on display on the 5th floor of the Matthew Building.

You can follow Scott and his work on Instagram @se1zure__.