Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Lantern House, Ulverston, Cumbria 2 August – 1 September
Reviewed by: David Haley
For artists working in rural environments the trauma of the Foot and Mouth epidemic is an enormous challenge. 'Picking Up The Threads' at Welfare State International's (WSI) Lantern House reflects aspects of this catastrophic phenomenon in Cumbria and West Yorkshire.
The mass cull and incineration of whole flocks and herds traumatised farmers and their families – these daily experiences may no longer be newsworthy, but the consequences are only just being realised. WSI's show carries much of this emotion while maintaining a poetic clarity that denies sentimentality. The collective voice of the sixteen artists, farmers and creative people who were invited to contribute sees the crisis as both a 'requiem' and as "an affirmation of a creative future...".
Above all, the show has created the space to be able to move on and ask deeper questions about the situation. WSI are also presenting 'Witness to a Crisis', an event including presentations from writers, digital artists, filmmakers and some of the exhibiting artists.
The scale of the irrevocable landscape changes for those engaged in the rural economies – both farming and tourism – remains largely incomprehensible and raises critical questions. Do we maintain the economic slavery of agrochemical food production, assist species richness and diversity or do we develop a national countryside theme park? The cultural industries need to engage with these issues and contribute to the decisions that will reinvent land use.
Another Cumbrian artist, Conrad Atkinson, often quotes Wordsworth's greeting from Resolution and Independence : "How is it that you live, and what is it you do?" Like Atkinson, WSI's material practice touches people as it bridges the gap between conceptual and popular art forms. Like Wordsworth, their questions are fundamental to the survival of our species in the landscape of our own creation.
Writer detail:
DAVID HALEY
d.haley@mmu.ac.uk |
www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk/profile/dhaley
Venue detail:
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