Free at Last!  Jailed Exhibition Comes To Edinburgh!

It's tough being a musician on the road - it's even tougher being in a touring exhibition.  Miles Davis, 
Muddy Waters, James Brown, BB King, Liam Gallagher (with a supporting cast of 50 musicians - not
to mention Chuck Berry's suitcase) were part of marc marnie's highly acclaimed An Eye For Music 
exhibition at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in January 2000.   In February 2000, pursuing a disputed 
debt on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, Sheriff's Officers placed the entire exhibition under 
arrest.   Since then it has languished in the Sheriff's Officers' store in Stirling.     

The debt has now been settled but the controversy surrounding An Eye For Music continues.    
When marc went to collect the pictures, he was in for a shock.   The hand printed photographs of 
An Eye for Music had been left, unprotected, in the damp basement store.  Most of the exhibition
was ruined.    Many of the prints were buckled, frames were broken and chipped.   Siouxsie Sioux
had a crack across her face and Jack Bruce was only fit for the bin!   Appeals to the council and 
the Sheriff's Officers produced short shrift and a "not our problem" shrug of the corporate shoulders. 

Against the odds, An Eye for Music will be seen again at the Queen's Hall in Feb/Mar 2002. 
marc is busy on the huge task of repairing frames and reprinting where necessary to get the 
exhibition ready for its Edinburgh debut.    An Eye For Music is a stunningly impressive selection
of over 50 black & white hand-printed photographs of some of the world's most influential musicians
by one of Scotland's leading photographers.   It was Critic's Choice in the Scotsman, the Herald, 
the Big Issue, the Sunday Times and the List when it first appeared in Glasgow - and is long 
overdue for its Edinburgh premiere.

marc marnie has spent nearly a quarter of a century photographing thousands of musicians on 
stage and in his Edinburgh studio.    Working mainly in black and white and in very low light 
environments, marc's pictures let us glimpse behind the music; his vision and intuitive approach
get to the heart of things, evoking the essential spirit of the performer, on and off stage.   

Meanwhile marc has another exhibition about to open, showing a very different side to his work.  

Finders Keepers is a photographic record of an ambitious project by Edinburgh based theatre 
company Benchtours Productions and the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen.   During a two month 
outreach programme Benchtours ran music, drama, video and visual art workshops for over
120 young people and adults with learning difficulties, leading up to a full stage production 
in December 2000.  

marc's exhibition charts the various stages of the project and provides some remarkable 
images, capturing just a small part of the process and a few of the people involved.   
These are candid photographs which do not try to conceal the disabilities of those involved.
But they speak all the more clearly of the transformative power of the stage.

…striking, uncompromising images… alive with the joy of the moment…  
                                                                           Susan Mansfield, Aberdeen Press & Journal

Listings
Finders Keepers - A Great And Mighty Feat Of Exploration!
Tue 15 Jan - Sun 3 Mar, the Village, South Fort Street, Leith, Edinburgh (0131 479 7810)
An Eye For Music - Music Images for the Millennium
Mon 25 Feb - Sat 23 Mar, the Queen's Hall, South Clerk St, Edinburgh (0131 668 3456)
Opening times vary, admission free	

Find these pictures before someone else keeps them!

A genius! - Dizzy Gillespie

For more press information, interviews, photos etc phone: Morag Neil on 0131 557 5918