THE RUN COLLECTIVE

The RUN Collective is a group of Townsvillebased multidisciplinary artists who have collaborated from their shared space The Cot since July 2007.

As one member of the group explains, the name RUN “was decided on accidentally, but it can be an acronym for ‘Radical Underground Network’ or the like.”1 The Cot, an underground haven within the Townsville arts scene, has been a hub of creativity since it formed, spawning numerous exhibitions, gigs, street art works, zines and publications, films and workshops. Members of the group are deeply protective of the studio, and explain that the name was coined as, “The Cot related mainly to the idea of nurturing emerging and underground arts and music culture in Townsville by having alternative arts events in the studio itself... [The Cot is] the most organic space, having maybe 80-plus ‘lives’ while we’ve been in there, from art exhibitions to themed wall murals for the bands using the space.”2

Self-directed, independent and experimental, the group has largely developed their reputation on the streets and away from the support of large arts institutions. Evidence of the regard with which they are held in north Queensland however, two major exhibitions of the group’s works have been displayed in recognised gallery venues; Tonite We RUN (2009) shown at Umbrella Studio contemporary arts, and an exhibition celebrating The Cot, Urban DK (2011), developed by the artists and Pinnacles Gallery.

Their emphasis on experimentation and collaboration has led them to utilise countless art mediums, including ‘self-inflicted’ tattoos.

The RUN Collective’s original tattoo designs are generally intimate in scale, and include depictions of masked figures, iconic RUN Collective characters, and damaged TV sets (a representation of their detest for and distrust of commercial mass media).

Their untrained tattoo experiments are further evidence of their DIY-mindset, and hark back to some members of the previous generation of tattoo artists who mastered their craft at home with friends and peers. Moreover, it pushes back against the sanitised mainstreaming of the tattoo culture that has risen up in the past decade. This trend parallels the widespread popularisation of street art which has also deeply impacted The RUN Collective’s practice.

For A Permanent Mark: the impact of tattoo culture on contemporary art, the group present a raw installation, including a video highlighting their tattoo experiments. Running throughout the small-scale cityscape installation of hand-built wooden structures and found items is a model train set. The group draw a parallel between the drawn lines of tattoos on skin, and the much larger marking of the land using train tracks. This symbol speaks of the connection between body and land, and also reinforces the comparisons between tattoo and street art, with the train having a rich global history of carrying street pieces to new audiences.

Notes

1 Media release created for The RUN Collective’s 2011 major exhibition at Pinnacles Gallery, entitled Urban DK

2 Media release created for The RUN Collective’s 2011 major exhibition at Pinnacles Gallery, entitled Urban DK