A_Place Gallery is pleased to present Prediction Error, a solo exhibition by Adam Boyd.
Guest curated by Jamie Limond.
30 October - 27 November 2026.
In neuroscience, a ‘prediction error’ occurs when our internal, habitualised model of reality meets unexpected phenomena. In positive errors we are rewarded with dopamine, experiencing the unexpected as a happy surprise which remakes the model.
Embracing the effects of chance, Adam Boyd has recently shifted towards analogue Polaroid photography as a counterpoint to the digital photographic prints imbedded within his textiles. These Polaroids are often exposed twice, a camera trick traditionally achieved on regular filmstock by rewinding the reel and shooting (somewhat blindly) over previous photographs. Double-exposures in contemporary instant cameras can only occur within a short window of time, meaning both photographs are captured in relatively close proximity to one another; the two inputs like coordinates, a simple movement between left & right, up & down, one side of a street to the other; enough to confuse and abstract the world around you.
In a similar inversion of Boyd’s usual studio methods of patchwork and collage, wall-hangings have been produced as unadorned quilted structures subjected to garment-dying processes and painterly stains which follow and bleed into the peaks and troughs generated by the sewn lines. Embroidered tendrils extend outwardly from the rectangular framework, creating the conditions for further shadow play. Hardware such as hook attachments, keyrings, straps, and Polaroids in plastic cases adorn the work, reflecting Boyd’s experience of East Asia – a fusion of classical ornamentation, mass-produced merchandise, souvenirs and modular fashion trends.
Works on paper from an ongoing series of watercolour studies are shown here for the first time. Each sketch is split into a miniature triptych, the deckled edge of the pages collecting pigment in a similar manner to the lines of thread within the quilts. In both the textiles and watercolours, a subdued echo of a traditional Japanese scroll pattern repeats. The sketches attempt to transcribe the complexities of Boyd’s double-exposure Polaroids – an undertaking which, more often than not, disintegrates into indistinct tributaries of colour.
The show is accompanied by a limited edition publication by Painting Nerds, a YouTube channel run by Jamie Limond, guest curator of the exhibition, and Samuel O'Donnell, director of A_Place.
Kindly supported by Creative Scotland.
Adam Boyd (b. 1993) Completed an MFA at The Slade and was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2022, he has participated in several group exhibitions in the UK and internationally. Strand Systems, his first solo show outside the UK, opened in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, in 2021, the culmination of a month-long residency at SiM, Reykjavik. In 2023, he generated two solo exhibitions in London, Synchronisations and Protubs, the latter of which was supported by The Eaton Fund, and in October 2024 presented Collider, his first solo exhibition in Asia, with ThisWeekendRoom, Seoul. In 2025, he participated in the SARUYA Artist Residency in Fujiyoshida, Japan, and was included in Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art’s Climate Crisis Exhibition.
A_Place Gallery, 209 Bath Street, Glasgow
Open Tues & Thursday 11-2 & by appointment. Opening times may vary as the exhibition continues, please check the website/socials for updates.
