Coffee-Table Notes

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge – A rtist, performer, writer, musician Born February 22, 1950; died March 14 2020   Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, who has died aged 70, was an artistic provocateur, whose taboo-busting actions helped kick-start a form of electronic primitivism that gave rise to a latter-day Noise scene. Breyer P-Orridge’s entire life was an artistic experiment, whether as part of performance art troupe, COUM Transmissions, as one-quarter of industrial auteurs Throbbing Gristle, or at the head of the more psychedelically inclined Psychic TV. Breyer P-Orridge and COUM were denounced by Conservative MP Nicholas Fairburn as ‘wreckers of civilisation’. This followed the opening of Prostitution, COUM’s pornography-fused 1976 exhibition at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. Prostitution also launched Throbbing Gristle, whose quartet of Breyer P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter ‘Sleazy’ Chrisopherson and Chris Carter produced a form of confrontational electronica that p

The planned reopening of the University of St Andrews’ flagship Wardlaw Museum scheduled for April following a £2.1 million overhaul has been postponed in light of the current Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Formerly known as the Museum of the University of St Andrews’ (MUSA), the extended and remodelled Wardlaw was due to open its first exhibition, Philip Colbert: The Death of Marat and the Birth of the Lobster. This was by St Andrews philosophy graduate turned neo-pop surrealist Colbert, and was set to run alongside highlights from the Museum’s extensive permanent collection. Drawing on the University’s 115,000 or so objects of national and international significance featured in shows at both the Wardlaw and the Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History, when the Wardlaw eventually opens, it will feature work not previously seen on display. These include a Thai silver zodiac bowl, prototype LEDs developed in the 1970s, detailed models of flowers and plants, and a telegram from NAS

Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh until May 9 th The totemic properties of the natural world and the strains of ecologically inclined sci-fi course through this group show of twelve international artists, whose work is gathered across the Talbot Rice as a kind of global village come home to roost under the same roof. The show’s title is drawn from The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi’s nineteenth-century folk-tale about a wooden puppet boy who comes to life, spreading fake news in a way that causes his nose to grow. Those reclaiming the truth here do so in the face of climate deniers, colonialists and corporate puppets, while those pulling their strings keep their distance. The semi-circle of tribal masks that stand at the centre of the downstairs gallery suggests a ritual space amplified by drones from above. Set against the backdrop of Chilean artist Johanna Unzueta’s cartoon-styled mural, Resonance (2020), inspired by women weavers in Mexico, Canadian First Nation artist