Gralloch

This work was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2007 where Coombes was representing Scotland. The 5 minute film follows a gillie as he shoots then disembowels a stag, whilst inside the stag's body a sad face peers out lamenting its fate. Animals are a recurring theme in Coombes' work, in particular animals that relate to the rural life of the aristocrat. The actor in the stag's body expresses the soul of the dying animal and projects the pathos of the event to the audience. Coombes' work makes particular reference to the society of rural Scotland and also to classical and Victorian art, thus making the acquisition of his work for Aberdeen Art Gallery especially appropriate.