Artist explores dark side

Artist in residence, Sophy Rickett, took up her fellowship in Dundee Contemporary Arts last month. While based in the flat for visiting artists, Sophy will develop her work using the technical facilities in the Visual Research Centre and the print studio in DCA.

Sophy is the second artist to benefit from the 'artist in residence' scheme funded by the Scottish Arts Council. "I'm really pleased I've been offered this opportunity," she said. "There is so much going on in Dundee and the people I am working with in DCA and the University have been brilliant. Since coming here I've been learning new skills and experimenting with more diverse materials than before."

A graduate in fine art from the Royal College of Art in London, Sophy's work focuses on deserted open spaces with the night as a black backdrop. Her subjects are artificially lit to disclose small details but with large areas left in the dark giving her work an intentional ambiguity.

Sophy explained: "I use the darkness of night time not to suggest emptiness, but more to suggest a space that is full of possibility - a space where anything could happen."

A busy year lies ahead. Sophy is working on several different projects including a video editing project using the rushes of a well known television programme as a starting point and in February, at the end of her residency, she will have a solo exhibition in Gallery 2 at DCA. Solo exhibitions are also lined up for Berlin, Tokyo and London and her work will be displayed at group exhibitions in Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Stratford and Sunderland.

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