Action

The Action sculpture series explores art as a dissenting practice, and was commissioned and funded by the Salina Arts Center (SAC), Kansas, and the Andy Warhol Foundation, USA.

Dissenting forms include collective protest, anti-capitalist & environmental activism, green language and terms including ‘recyclable’, ‘sustainable’, ‘renewable’, ‘climate change’, and ‘low carbon footprint’. Today, these forms and others are co-opted as instruments serving hegemonic official interests.

This context indicates such forms have irrevocably altered from their original dissenting role to voice corporate mentality. As the forms’ dissenting role has been rendered virtually impotent it is necessary to develop alternative methods that disrupt and break the use of these forms. Within eco-art discourses this necessity is still under-acknowledged. This research aims to contribute to eco-art discourses by identifying, investigating and practically testing methods to engage in disruptive dissent.

Stages to develop the critical context for the project:
• Selected by peer review (300+ applicants), and commissioned for Residency and Exhibition at SAC.
• Work developed at SAC and presented publicly each week through open studio.
• Work presented at three formal talks to public, art workers and academics.
• Public Exhibition (600 visitors).
• Presentation at the Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, Kansas (100+ visitors).
• Work from the project has been included in a current survey exhibition at SAC.

Findings:
• The work dissolves ubiquitous signs, slogans and motifs to challenge their received meaning.
• The work extends existing eco-art discourse by identifying and developing practical strategies in response to the field’s under-recognised problems.