Exhibition preview: Nick Evans – Solar Eyes, Tramway, Glasgow, until March 31 2013

Biomorphism may have been a tendency in art since the 1930s, but the allusive, figurative works of Nick Evans suggest an active engagement with prehistory. Specifically, that could be a past in which aliens were first to colonise the vast exhibition space at Tramway.

The plaster population of Solar Eyes can be found somewhere on the spectrum of appeal which runs from the cuddly E.T. to the terrifying Alien of Ridley Scott. Needless to say, many of Evans’ creations look back at us with those eponymous peepers. In one case, the eye is a noisy helium balloon.

Meanwhile, the murals which provide a backdrop to the show recall Abyssinian or Egyptian friezes. Except that Evans’ version is in colour, computerised and other than human. So why, the visitor may wonder, do we feel the need to project human characteristics onto these beings?

And yet fantastical alien civilisations have captured the imagination of the press. The Scotsman, The List and The Herald all rave about the local sculptor’s show.  Pull quotes can be found on the Tramway website, which also carries a film of the show for those too southerly or scared to attend.

• Open 12pm-5pm (6pm Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday). Admission free. Follow the gallery on Twitter @GlasgowTramway.
  
  

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