Trigger Warning: Despite its appearance, this work may be unsuitable for those under 15 years of age.

upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop is Jupiter Artland’s 2021 permanent commission by Scottish artist Rachel Maclean. This ground-breaking new work is the first time Maclean has worked entirely with cartoon animation and at an architectural scale.

Combining animation and architecture, upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop takes the form of an abandoned high-street shop, sited within the woodland at Jupiter Artland. Maclean has taken her inspiration from commercial spaces as sites of desire, combining this with the role that forests play within fairy tales, being at once places of magic, danger, and transformation, where the normal rules of daily life no longer apply.

At the end of a woodland path, a toy shop – seemingly abandoned and derelict on the outside – reveals itself on entering to be the upside-down world of cartoon princess Mimi. Maclean’s first fully animated heroine, Mimi is a darkly arch character for our generation who invites us into the topsy-turvy world of end-game capitalism. Through Mimi, Maclean weaves a 21st century fairy-tale about consumerist desire.

upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop was the starting point for the first two iterations of our Jupiter+ programme, taking Mimi to the High Streets of Perth and Ayr for a site-specific installation and free creative learning programme in Perth and Ayr.

‘Working with Jupiter Artland on this new commission has been incredible. It’s my first foray into outdoor art, and my most ambitious project to date, combining architecture, sculpture and animation. The upside-down world of Mimi has taken years of planning and hard work, so I’m really excited for folk to see it! I hope that the feeling of the world turned on its head resonates with audiences in these topsy turvy times and offers a surrealist and darkly humorous escape from lockdown life.’ Rachel Maclean

‘We have watched Rachel Maclean’s career develop for many years and have always admired her fresh and frank approach to issues that surround us. Although these are always relevant to the present, they provoke timeless questions about identity, power and social context. At Jupiter we have encouraged, and are delighted to see, her create a new fantasy world on the grounds of Jupiter Artland. Not all is what it seems and it’s this jeopardy that makes it such an exciting permanent installation. We hope we can provoke discussions and debate about issues that affect us all but most particularly after the time of COVID. As one of the Scotland’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Maclean’s work challenges audiences, and in its production challenges Maclean as a filmmaker. Mimi will continue to stretch our imaginations through a film that is comical and charged.’ Founder & Director of Jupiter Artland, Nicky Wilson

Biography

Rachel Maclean (b.1987 Edinburgh, Scotland) has rapidly established herself as one of the most distinctive creative voices in the UK, known for her satirical characters and meticulously crafted fantasy worlds. Based in Glasgow, Maclean graduated from Edinburgh College of Art (2009) and her work came to public attention in New Contemporaries later that year.

Maclean produces elaborate films and digital prints using costumes, exaggerated make-up, green screen visual effects and electronic soundtracks. Her artwork is both seductive and disturbing, set in oversaturated candy coloured worlds with unsettling themes and narratives. Her works explore issues surrounding identity, class, nationalism and gender, whilst referencing narrative structures from pop culture and fairy-tales.

Maclean has exhibited widely across galleries, museums, film festivals and on television across the UK and internationally, with solo shows at Kunsthalle zu Kiel Germany, Arsenal Contemporary New York, Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden Germany, National Gallery London, Zabludowicz Collection London, Talbot Rice Gallery Edinburgh, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Australia Canberra Artpace San Antonio Texas, HOME Manchester and Tate Britain. Her work A Whole New World won the prestigious Margaret Tait Award in 2013, she has twice been shortlisted for the Jarman Award, and achieved widespread critical praise for Feed Me in British Art Show 8 in 2016. Maclean’s film DUCK (2024) received an award at the prestigious Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria. She has also worked on various TV commissions with the BBC and Channel 4. Maclean represented Scotland + Venice at the Venice Biennale 2017.

Credit for Rachel Maclean logo:
© the artist

Image Credits: Amelia Claudia, James Glossop