ARTISTS TALKING

The winds of social activism have blown over this year's nominees for 'Beck's Futures'. Adopting an idiosyncratic attitude, the artists have taken a historical perspective to bypass the art of their immediate predecessors.

Humorous references such as Bernd Behr's Theatre du Vide in which the artist repeatedly attempts to climb the gate pole from where Yves Klein plunged into the void, or serious parodies such as I am revolutionary by Carey Young, overtly challenge the moral, social and economic conventions of our era, reflecting on today's political climate.

Inventory's film of the Newark American Lifestyle Festival shows a group of British nationals embracing the American Way of Life. The title Sleepwalkers suggests the participants' blindness. The voice over is fierce but intelligent: "The special relationship between Britain and the US has always been a British idea; a false commonality that Thatcher identified with by adopting America's brutal brand of free market capitalism over the left-leaning social concerns of mainland Europe." Capitalism is at stake in Coagulum, which testifies to their action in the real realm; they descend to the street using their own bodies to form a rugby scrum, clotting the flow of shoppers.

For An advancement into retreat – also set in a shopping street – David Sherry shows up badly disguised as a woman in a flowery dress. In this blatantly provocative outfit, the artist actively confronts passers-by staring at them with a smile; receiving insults in return. By siting his performance in the public arena, Sherry reveals our strict code of social behaviour and our intolerance to unexplained phenomena. Sherry's art, as ironic as it may be, involves a process of self-denial as in I haven't touched another human being for years for which he has vowed not to touch anyone for a month. Even worse, it requires self-inflicted pain in a manner reminiscent of masochistic body art. In Stitching, Sherry demonstrates how to sow a wooden sole on to one's feet. His intense pain is expressed through mild exclamations such as "Christ!" while for the viewer, merely imagining the pain is extremely discomforting. More light-hearted, the wall painting Socket workers pictures individuals plugged into a power socket and to one other; the machine is no longer an extension of the human being, it has become the human being.

A poetic denunciation of the automatism of thoughtless duties that workers perform is witnessed in Gap fillers, a plethora of mis-spelt phrases such as "I wont keep you a moment" scribbled on a board, which artist Carey Young found in a call centre. Is this intentional standardisation or a genuine lack of imagination amongst employees? Line made by walking disrupts another form of conditioning, the very one experienced by millions of workers, commuting to work. At first a walking crowd of suits flows towards the viewers. Suddenly, one person – Carey Young – turns back on herself to walk against the ever-descending flow. The relevance of the phrase "A suit is a great camouflage", title of Young's essay in the exhibition catalogue, where she hints that any activists should take an insider's position to protest against the existing power structures, becomes clear. Her position towards her participation in Beck's Futures is testified by Non Disclosure where, in the furrow of Hans Haacke, she exposes the delicate balance between artist and sponsor.

Beck's ad campaign states "If sponsorship kills art then welcome to a funeral". How much does it benefit this company to take on board these agent provocateurs? Does this raft of artists valiantly trying to stem the flow of global capitalism actually increase Beck's revenues by generating endless columns of editorial? Are the artists merely a sales device? Perhaps we will find the answer in next year's show.