Building upon four years of research into nuclear culture, Arts Catalyst announces new commissions by artists Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson, David Mabb, Susan Schuppli and Thomson & Craighead; an artist residency with Kota Takeuchi at Arts Catalyst Centre for Art, Science & Technology, London, UK; the publication of The Nuclear Culture Source Book and two exhibitions; Material Nuclear Culture at KARST in Plymouth, UK and Perpetual Uncertainty at Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden.
The Nuclear Culture Project is a curatorial exploration, led by Ele Carpenter, Associate Curator at Arts Catalyst, in partnership with Goldsmiths College, University of London, which began with considering the conceptual and cultural challenges of dismantling nuclear submarines in the UK, inviting artists to consider the aesthetic, conceptual and ethical concerns of nuclear submarines in conjunction with experts in the field. The project brings together scientists, engineers and community activists with artists and ethicists to develop new opportunities for creative practice.
Specific areas of enquiry include: the invisibility of the nuclear economy, the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown, geological waste storage, the Anthropocene, and nuclear humanities.
The 2016/17 Nuclear Culture programme launches in June 2016 with Material Nuclear Culture, an exhibition exploring the material traces and cultural legacy of nuclear powered submarines in the UK.
Ele Carpenter, curator: “During the Material Nuclear Culture exhibition two important decisions will be made by the British Government: the announcement on whether to cancel the Trident nuclear weapons programme, and where the reactor pressure vessels from old submarines will be stored in the UK. Dismantling and storing radioactive waste is not a straightforward process, and the MOD's plans are still based on the dream of burying it deep under the Cumbrian hills for a million years. The exhibition brings together different aspects of this debate and explores the political and aesthetic tensions of these long time frames, beyond human comprehension.”
Listings 2016/17
Material Nuclear Culture
Fri 17 June – Sat 13 Aug 2016, Wed – Sat, 11am – 5pm
KARST, 22 George Pl, Plymouth PL1 3NY
Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson, James Acord, Susan Schuppli, Kota Takeuchi, Thomson & Craighead, David Mabb, Erika Kobayashi
Material Nuclear Culture is an exhibition exploring the material traces and cultural legacy of nuclear powered submarines in the UK, within the international discourse of deep time aesthetics and memory. The exhibition highlights the complexity of archiving the cultural legacy of submarine heritage within a wider discussion of how to comprehend the deep time challenges of radioactive waste storage. A partnership between KARST and Arts Catalyst, curated by Ele Carpenter.
Material Nuclear Culture Roundtable Discussion
Sat 18 June 2016, 10am – 3.30pm
KARST, 22 George Pl, Plymouth PL1 3NY
A discussion about art and nuclear culture will take place in the centre of the Material Nuclear Culture exhibition bringing together artists, submariners, and members of the Submarine Dismantling Project Advisory Group (SDP-AG) and NsubF Nuclear Submarine Forum in the South East. Participants include: Les Netherton, Chair of the SDP-AG; Mark Portman, WO1, Royal Navy (Submarines); Carien Kremer, Curator at William Morris Gallery; Ele Carpenter, Curator; Nicola Triscott, Artistic Director of Arts Catalyst and artists Nick Crowe, David Mabb, Kota Takeuchi, Thomson & Craighead.
The discussion will take place around a reconstruction of James Acord’s roundtable that he built in his Hanford studio in 1999, to bring together environmentalists and people from the nuclear industry to discuss the clean up of nuclear materials at the Hanford site.
Places are limited, booking required: http://bit.ly/1Oppvlb
Kota Takeuchi: Residency and Exhibition at Arts Catalyst
Thu 7 – Fri 29 July 2016, Thu & Fri, 12noon – 6pm
Arts Catalyst Centre, 74-76 Cromer Street, London WC1H 8DR
During his time in the UK, Kota Takeuchi will be researching the deep time concerns of monuments, site markers and memory around the UK and Belgium. He will undertake field research at the Belgian underground research laboratory for the geologic storage of radioactive waste in partnership with Z33 and the Belgian nuclear waste agency NIRAS / NIROND. On Saturday 16 July curator and writer Eiko Honda will be in discussion with Kota Takeuchi, chaired by artist Kaori Homma from Art Action UK. Kota Takeuchi's residency has been organised by S-AIR in Japan in partnership with Arts Catalyst, supported by the Sasakawa Foundation.
The Nuclear Culture Source Book
Forthcoming Sept (UK) and Oct (USA) 2016
The Nuclear Culture Source Book, will serve as a resource and introduction to nuclear culture as one of the most prominent themes within contemporary art and society, exploring the diverse ways in which post-Fukushima society has influenced artistic and cultural production. The book brings together a wide-ranging collection of material from artists and writers working within the scope of nuclear culture internationally, including works by renowned practitioners such as Lise Autogena, Thomson & Craighead, Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson, Chim↑Pom, Franco & Eva Mattes, Trevor Paglen, Noi Sawaragi, Suzanne Treister, Kota Takeuchi, and architect Katsuhiro Miyamoto. The book has been edited by Ele Carpenter and published by Black Dog Publishing in partnership with Bildmuseet and Arts Catalyst.
All events are listed on: http://bit.ly/1Nwvk5G