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National Gallery of Modern Art

7 December until 5 March

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SCOTTISH FOOTball team might leave much to be desired, but at least our artists are still scoring internationally. Last month, the curtain fell on another Venice Biennale, and the Scottish team returned with another success story.

If you didn't make it to Venice, you haven't missed out, because a new version of the Venice show, Selective Memory, opens next week on home turf at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Joanne Tatham and Tom O'Sullivan, who work as a partnership, plus Cathy Wilkes and Alex Pollard have all made new work that picks up themes from the Biennale.

Jason E Bowman, who co-curated Selective Memory with Rachel Bradley, says the new show both overlaps and eclipses the work shown in Venice. "It definitely moves things on. The show that is coming to Edinburgh is potentially more theatrical. The artists have been able to develop aspects of the work they created for Venice and push them further. The SNGMA is a particular type of space with a particular history. I think it's great that young artists living in Scotland, who are clear leaders in their community, have the opportunity to exhibit in that context."

Wilkes, whose Venice work consisted of an installation of found objects, sculptures and paintings, now adds video to the mix. Pollard, who created a series of animals from old wooden rulers, makes new sculptures and a wall drawing, and the SNGMA gives Tatham and O'Sullivan an opportunity to continue to explore the impact of their large-scale sculptures on new spaces.

Selective Memory was designed to follow the highly successful Zenomap project, with which Scotland made its official debut at the Venice Biennale in 2003, featuring work by Jim Lambie, Simon Starling and Claire Barclay. Critics said this year's work, though less ostentatious than some offerings by other countries, repaid time spent, and stood up even next to worldwide names such as Gilbert and George and American painter Ed Ruscha.

"Even next to all that, I thought the Scottish work stood up very well," says art critic, Iain Gale. "The festival as a whole was the same confused and confusing jamboree it always is, but there were some very, very fine things, and I think on the whole we stood up really very well. We've settled into it and I think it's great we're there, whatever you think about the Biennale." Philip Long, senior curator at the SNGMA, says it is crucial that the work should now be seen in Scotland. "Venice is a very important world stage, and it's important to place Scotland on that. The Zenomap exhibition in 2003 was very impressive but it wasn't seen back in Scotland, and this year we felt audiences back home should have the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about." The gallery is offering "live guides", lectures and seminars to help casual art lovers get to grips with the more "challenging" work in the show.

Scotland's approach to the Biennale has been to choose emerging artists, rather than attempt to find a national figurehead, and to use the event as a stepping stone for their careers. The four artists in the 2005 show all report an upsurge in sales and interest in their work, and are all now in discussion with collectors and galleries about future projects. Pollard, at 28 the youngest of the artists chosen, says the experience more than lived up to expectations. "It went really well, I had really great feedback and met lots of new people. Since the Biennale I've been asked to take part in a show of young British-based artists in New York and there's a two-person show in Australia on the cards. Things seem to be moving on. It gave me a chance to develop my practice, to think really hard about what I was doing, and to learn from the other artists."

The message is simple: Biennales boost careers. If you need any more evidence, consider the three artists who showed in Zenomap. All have since had major shows, and two - Lambie and Starling - are on the shortlist for this year's Turner Prize.

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