CASH, CLASH & CLIMATE 

MASLEN & MEHRA in collaboration with street artists, Shuby and Delete
1 September – 12 November 2017
Opening event: 14th September 2017
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery
John’s Place
Hastings TN34

Maslen & Mehra consider their more recent work to be ‘micro’. By that, they mean they are honing in on very specific political and environmental dilemmas. This requires a completely different methodology to previous work in order to explore detailed narratives. The sculptures in their current series have been based on ceramic plates researched in museums around the world. These include the Victoria & Albert and British Museums, London; Hastings Museum, UK; Mares Museum, Barcelona; the Metropolitan Museum, New York; the Archaeological Museum and the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, Istanbul; the Asian Museum of Civilization in Singapore and the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza, Italy. Maslen & Mehra fashion the sculptures from humble materials: wire and papier-mâché, completed with a decoupage technique of small tiles of archival prints. The narrative of each original plate is altered to highlight a variety of ideas tied to three themes: Cash, Clash and Climate.

The Cash series draws attention to bank bailouts; Doughnut Economics; credit culture; housing bubbles; tampon tax; quantitative easing; war as big business; the commodification of food staples; and the almost religious status that money has reached in our times. The Clash series embodies social unrest from London to Athens; Article 475; the refugee crisis; Grenfell; Greece and the Eurozone; social media to organise protests; fracking; gun control vs gun rights; and the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Lastly, the Climate series highlights environmental topics such as global coral bleaching events; chronic pollution as a heavy cost for economic power in China; melting ice caps; the opposing views of climate change; El Niño; Natural Capital; and the legacy of radiation from Japan’s nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The artists have made bespoke stands for the sculptures and invited local street artists, Shuby and Delete, to add to their surfaces, responding to each theme. This exhibition at the Hastings Museum draws together pieces from the three collections for the first time, representing years of work.

The sculptures individually pose questions about political, social and economic structures but together they ask how they, in turn, relate to social unrest and environmental issues. Some themes may be familiar to the viewer such as the piece, Polarized, which confronts us with opposing slogans: ‘Global warming is a cruel hoax’ and ‘Climate can’t wait’. Others are less obvious, such as the piece Article 475 which encourages the viewer to look further if they don’t understand the reference. Faith in Fiat questions the shift from commodity money to a fiat system which is effectively a promise. Is it sustainable to have such blind faith? The largest piece in the collection, Natural Capital references a system by which natural assets (water, geology, biodiversity, soil, air) and ecosystem services (pollination by insects, recreation, natural flood defences etc.) are given a financial value. Could this alternate economic system be the key? Maslen & Mehra have created the framework Cash, Clash and Climate in order to ponder questions about the complexities of living today and they invite viewers to follow their train of thought.

Hasting Museum and Art Gallery has an extensive ceramics collection. This exhibition will be in the newly refurbished Ceramics Gallery which showcases pottery production over the past 5000 years.

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Telephone: 01424 451052
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Admission is free. We are open all year:
April – October: Tuesday - Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 12noon – 5pm. Last admission 4.30pm
November – March: Tuesday - Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday 12noon – 4pm. Last admission 3.30pm
The Museum has full wheelchair access throughout and disabled toilet facilities.
Free parking available outside Museum, including 1 disabled parking bay.

Faith In Fiat

Installation on view at the Towner Art Gallery.
22 July - 1 October 2017.
The summer exhibition has been selected by Richard Billingham (artist), Rosie Cooper (curator De La Warr Pavilion) and Brian Cass (curator Towner).

Open Tuesday–Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays. 10.00am-5.00pm
Devonshire Park
College Road
Eastbourne
BN21 4JJ

MASLEN & MEHRA Biography

Tim Maslen (b. 1968, Australia) studied Fine Art at Curtin University, Perth and completed an MA at Goldsmiths University, London in 1997. Jennifer Mehra (b. 1970, London) studied Fine Art at City Art Institute, Sydney and the National Arts School, Australia. Mehra was a founder of VOID, an East London artists’ – run space, which staged dozens of exhibitions for four years from 1997 – 2000.

Maslen & Mehra have worked collaboratively since 2000. They are recipients of a grant award from the Arts Council of England for their ongoing work Cash, Clash & Climate (2015 – 2017). Work from this series was included in an exhibition curated by Jenni Lomax, Melanie Manchot and Brian Cass at the Towner Contemporary (July 2016). They exhibited work from this series in the exhibition The Fall Of The Rebel Angels in Venice in 2015.

In 2014, they staged a solo exhibition at Lucy Bell Gallery for the Hastings Photo Festival. They were selected by Paul Noble for Creekside, London 2013, and were included in LUMINOUSFLUX at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. In 2011, they were shortlisted for the Latitude Contemporary Art Prize alongside Graham Dolphin, Delaine Le Bas, Andy Harper and Alice Anderson.

The work of Maslen & Mehra can be found in collections such as Tattinger Switzerland, Galila Collection Brussels, Art EsCollecion Madrid, numerous international private collections and the Altered Landscape Collection, Nevada Museum of Art. Maslen & Mehra are featured in the stunning accompanying book titled The Altered Landscape published by Rizzoli.

Solo exhibitions have been staged in New York, London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Dubai, Istanbul, Toronto, Perth, Sydney and Berlin. In 2011 there was a solo presentation of their work for the Scotiabank CONTACT International Festival, Toronto. A monograph, Mirrored – Maslen & Mehra was published by Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg in 2008 with texts by Hamburger Bahnhof Museum Curator, Eugen Blume and art historian, Edward Lucie-Smith. Earlier projects include an installation at the Frissiras Museum, Athens during the Olympics (2004), a sculpture installation exhibited at Artspace, Sydney (2002), and a solo project at Dilston Grove, London achieved with awards from the Henry Moore Foundation and London Arts (2001).

An international meeting of CO-CRÉATION for the climate At the Grand Palais in PARIS, October 9-10, 2017

The association Art of Change 21 is organizing, with the support of the UN Environment, a meeting that will bring together artists, entrepreneurs and young eco-leaders from around the globe. The objective of this second conclave is to conceive of another participatory and artistic action for the environment and the climate that will be implemented internationally.

Art of Change 21 has selected distinguished personalities from civil society :

With the aim of encouraging civil society’s commitment to the climate despite the
North American withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the unique co-creation event
will be held at the Salon Alexandre III at the Grand Palais this autumn. The world’s
most inspiring accelerators of change — artists, social entrepreneurs and youth
environmental leaders — will meet for two days to collectively create an action that
will be developed and carried out by the association Art of Change 21.
For Art of Change 21, the creativity of artists, the driving spirit of entrepreneurs and
the forward thinking of young eco-leaders represent three complementary forces.
The Conclave of Art of Change 21 is the only initiative in the world that brings together
these diverse groups and fosters the spirit of of ‘‘cross-fertilization.’’

The first Conclave of Art of Change 21 was organized in 2014 at the Gaîté Lyrique
in Paris prior to the COP21 held in Paris.It brought together twenty-one exceptional
personalities some of whom were: Kenyan entrepreneur David Kobia (founder of
Ushahidi), French entrepreneur Cédric Carles (founder of the Solar Sound System
and Regen Box), artists Lucy Orta, Wen Fang and Laurent Tixador. Together they
conceived the Maskbook action (www.maskbook.org) which focuses on air pollution
and it’s effect on the climate. Maskbook, in partnership with the UN Environment,
has organized over 60 events world-wide, mobilizing tens of thousands of active
citizens.

About Art of Change 21
Art of Change 21 is an association founded in 2014 that combines art,
social entrepreneurship and youth in favor of sustainable development and
the environment, intervening at major events for the climate. The multi
cultural team is based in Paris. The association is strongly supported by
artist Olafur Eliasson (@olafureliasson) and entrepreneur Tristan Lecomte
(@tlecomte). Its main partner is the Schneider Electric Foundation and is also
supported by the UN Environment.

Art of Change 21
www.artofchange21.com
info@artofchange21.com
@artofchange21

This Open Call Comes from the Seismopolite Journal of Art and Politics 

While art residencies are often used as experimental sites for cultural exchange and social engagement, and sometimes also as “laboratories” for ecology or cooperation between art and sciences, their relevance has also been questioned due to the infinitely overlapping, global and seemingly inconsequential political territory they inhabit.

For Seismopolite’s next issue, they invite contributors from diverse disciplines to submit essays and reviews that discuss the global phenomenon of the art residency from a high variety of possible angles, including (not restricted to):

• The political meaning of cooperation in art residencies as international forms of cultural exchange.
• Types of residencies; themes, formats and ways of organizing residencies; their public programmes, exhibitions and events.
•  The idea of “site” and of local political and cultural interaction in art residencies.
• Art residencies in context: art, geopolitics and neoliberalism.
• The relationship between residencies and local art “scenes”.

Submissions are accepted accepted continuously, but to make sure you are considered for the upcoming issue, please send your proposal/ draft, a brief bio and samples of earlier work to submissions@seismopolite.com within June 14, 2017. All articles will be translated into Norwegian and published in a bilingual version.

Current issue: http://seismopolite.com/

Back issues: http://seismopolite.com/artandpolitics

The World theatre premier for PLUTO (No Longer a Play) has successfully entered into its second week of performances at The Brick in NYC. You can reserve your tickets for these performances up to June 3.

DESCRIPTION

PLUTO is an allegory about extinction… or it used to be, maybe. Three humans attempt to give a presentation about the remains of a play that no longer exists. The fragments seem to suggest the story of a unicorn, a hunter, and a wizard, all struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Facing similar dilemmas, the three humans reenact their findings, searching for hope among the bones.

IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION

Is a “doomed” species worth fighting for?

ARTISTS & HISTORY

Co-created by Jonathan Camuzeuax, William Cook, Lani Fu, Nikki Holck, Megan McClain, and Jeremy Pickard
Directed and Written by Jeremy Pickard and Lanxing Fu
Performed by William Cook*, Lanxing Fu, Brittany N. Williams*, and Courtney Williams
Lighting Design by Jay Maury
Sound Designer and Music Producer Trevor New
Music composed by Jonathan Camuzeaux
Choreography by Nikki Holck
Dramaturgy by Megan McClain
Project advisors: Sergio Botero and Una Chaudhuri

It was developed over the course of December 2015-December 2016, thanks to Creative Space grants from ART/NY and residencies with Stony Brook University and Lacawac Wildlife Sanctuary & Field Station.

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“Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.”— Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction

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FROM DRAMATURGE MEGAN MCCLAIN

Scientists suggest we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals in Earth’s history. Unlike other mass extinctions, this current crisis is caused almost entirely by people. Human activities impact 99% of currently threatened species. Extinction is natural, but scientists estimate this rapid loss of species is happening at between 1,000 and 10,000 times the normal rate. Ways to prevent further damage would involve decreasing pollution of all kinds (chemical, sound, light), reducing our contribution to climate change, and protecting and restoring wild areas. It would also require a serious recalibration in our thinking to consider the future of the world from outside of our anthropocentric point of view. How do we balance the fact that humans are a part of nature and extinctions are part of the constant adaptation of life, while taking accountability for our role in severely decreasing biodiversity on the planet? While we’re busy lighting fires to thrive and survive, what else might we be permanently extinguishing?

What do we do with what Per Espen Stoknes calls the “Great Grief” that comes with facing the rapid disappearance of species and irrevocable changes to ecosystems on our planet? Stoknes suggests we open ourselves up to mourn collectively, to move through the anger and indifference and sit in a space of loss. And from this place, perhaps we can find the strength together to look for new ways forward.

READ MEGAN’S BLOG “ON STUFF AND STUFFING”, TRACING SOME OF PLUTO’S PRODUCTION ELEMENTS BACK TO THE RAW MATERIALS AND ECOSYSTEMS FROM WHICH THEY CAME

Buy Tickets Here