A Call Out for Artivism through The Power of Observation
When will your last blossom be? - Stella Carr (artist in residence The Cubbington Pear)
As work is being submitted to the "Losing Track" exhibition (a brief that asks for a response to the destruction of ecosystems by HS2), a new Call Out is emerging. Some of the artists taking part share an urgency to take more direct action. They have decided to go and work from actual observation and they hope others will do the same. They have envisioned a project that encourages people of all artistic ability to make work directly from the natural areas designated for devastation by the HS2 project. They feel this could create work of passionate dynamism and also serves as a creative and peaceful protest.
Although we are still pleased to accept work for the Losing Track exhibition made in response to the destruction by HS2 from a geographical distance, we would be excited to see submissions of work created from this kind of direct protest. Read more about the proposed Artivism from the artists ….
The Power of Observation
This project is a form of social sculpture, rooted in the influence of Joseph Beuys and utilizing the power of observation.
Beuys believed that art has the potential to regenerate a deep awareness of our interrelation with nature, and activate areas of the human psyche, which he spoke of as the ‘Higher forms of Rationality: Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition’. He maintained that stimulating creative thought in individuals in every aspect of society could generate the deep shift in consciousness required to find a way of living in environmental harmony.
Working with Beuys’ claim that ‘everyone is an artist’, we are calling on everyone- established artists and poets and those who may have never picked up a paint brush or pencil- to engage, through Art with these natural places that are set to be destroyed by HS2. We are contacting galleries, art schools and protest/community groups all along the HS2 line, seeing it’s geographic potential as a means of connecting artistic thought and action across the country.
The Power of Observation
‘The continued possibility of poetry is itself the continued possibility of humanness’. - Sylvia Wynter
The intention is not to merely document these sites and seal the fate of the trees by archiving them in an exhibition. While we intend to raise awareness of the irreplaceability of what we are losing, we anticipate that the process of engaging with these trees through true observation and creation will have a deeply positive, regenerative power in itself.
Close observation brings us into intimate contact with nature, while simultaneously deepening our awareness of our own internal nature. This was understood by Goethe, who proposed that we can come to a holistic understanding of an object through an inter- relational process of perception. He theorised that, parallel to heightening our observational capacity, we develop internal organs of perception:
"Each phenomenon in nature, rightly observed, awakens in us a new organ of inner understanding. As one learns to see more clearly, he or she also learns to see more deeply. One becomes more "at home" with the phenomenon, understanding it with greater empathy, concern and respect." (Seamon, D. & Zajonc, A. 1998).
We believe artistic practices that involve this intensity of observation, for example drawing or writing poetry, can re-awaken a deep respect and appreciation for the natural world, whilst re-aligning our understanding of human nature as part of it. We aspire that the deepening of personal connection through this artistic practice will not only create meaningful work but will model empathy for the vitality of these precious habitats and send a powerful message to everyone to wake up and demand respect for them in the HS2 and other project management.
Establishing a movement of people working directly from nature within these precious sites can also be seen as a way of regenerating eco-literacy.(Read Jules Pretty’s blog How does Earth Land and Story Land differ?
Otherwise often referred to as traditional knowledge, it is derived from an intimate connection to a local landscape, formed through close observation, and through embedding our human stories within the land.
‘(Ecoliteracy) is not just knowing the names of things and their functional uses (or values), but placing ourselves as humans as an intimate part of an animate, information-rich, observant and talkative world’ (ibid).
‘This knowledge ties people to the land, and to one another. So when landscape is lost, it is not just a habitat or feature. It is the meaning for some people’s lives’(ibid).
‘We are suffering an extinction of experience’ (ibid)
Practicalities and Safety
If you feel you would like to make work in this way, by actually going to the endangered sites and engaging with the vulnerable nature in a visual or poetic response, we recommend you to reach out to others for solidarity in doing the same in small groups for your safety and perhaps a more enjoyable or powerful experience.
Please remember and respect the significance and power of peaceful protest.
The drawing workshop in the The Importance of Drawing blog could be a handy accompaniment to help get you going.
Please also be aware that you are acting as an individual and need to take care of your own safety and that of those in your group.
#irreplaceable and the artists involved can accept no responsibility for any actions or occurrences that might happen during this Artivism.
Useful reading
HS2 will destroy or damage hundreds of UK wildlife sites, says report - The Guardian, 15th Jan 2020
HS2 Ltd approach to natural environment is derisory - The Wildflife Trusts
For information and maps of the route we suggest checking http://stophs2.org