RYAT        ˈrī-ət        

May Our Civilities Never Be Too Civil 
2013


May Our Civilities Never Be Too Civil (Excerpt); total duration 0:18:21

May Our Civilities Never Be Too Civil looks at how Scottish involvement in the American Civil War and the Triangular Slave Trade are conjured through subcultural appropriations of the American Cowboy in Glasgow, Scotland. And subsequently, how these practices speak to discourses of Scottish Independence and self-determination. By focusing on the activities at the Glasgow Grand Ole Opry (cowboy buffs) and Scottish identification as both the brave and victim, I highlight how the rebellion and succession of Americans—first against the British and then the American Union—and the Western frontier are often manifest as one representative event within Glasgow’s public domain. Glaswegian sayings, such as “at least Americans fought for their freedom,” make evident that the re-imaging and appropriation of past American frontiers lends a rogue identity conducive for the future envisage of an independent Scotland. This project will examine how discussions of Scottish independence—the new frontier—garner the past. For what reasons are these particular pasts and cultures conjured? What do these frontiers promise?

total duration 0:18:21; 2013 In this excerpt, the viewer meets Alan Birkbeck, a Civil War, British infantry and artillery enthusiast who refurbishes old artillery for reenactment societies.

  May Our Civilities Never Be Too Civil; 2013 May Our Civilities Never Be Too Civil, book; 2013
The piece comprises over 200 photos and screen shots from the video Yee-HAW! The Lore Of It All, features 7 different locations and two collaborators, Alan Birkbeck and Eduardo Sandoval Escola. The images shown depict Escola and myself performing at Transmission Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland.


A Proper Welcome: Part II (Excerpt); total duration 0:10:23; 2013

Projected on a raised screen at the entrance of the gallery (312 West Princess Street, Glasgow, Scotland), the character shoots at those entering the space before singing a ballad to her dead counterpart, the Native American icon.

Upcoming | Current
Tactics of Erasure at ReflectSpace, Glendale

Recent Exhibitions
Collision Practice at Human Resources and the LGBT Center

growth lies, pack of truth at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles  Opening October 1st - January 8th

Spillover, 
Durden and Ray at the Bendix building, Los Angeles

It’s kind of a scary feeling, LAXART for X-TRA Summer Launch Party



Contact: ryat.yezbick [at] gmail.com


Photography: Hagen Betzwieser, Keelan O’Hehir, Jessica Wittman, Panayiotis Tsangas, Cedric Tai, Eleni Maligoura, Zach Korol-Gold, Gabriel Sweet


Copyright @2022 Ryat Yezbick. All rights reserved.