{"id":1312,"date":"2021-11-02T07:00:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/religious-studies\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2021-11-01T14:47:20","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T14:47:20","slug":"materialising-climate-concern-and-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/religious-studies\/?p=1312","title":{"rendered":"Materialising Climate Concern and Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marion Bowman<\/em><\/p>\n

Below the iconic Pulteney Bridge in the centre of Bath there is currently a striking installation, Sinking House<\/em> by artist Anna Gillespie. As nearby signs explain<\/a>, \u2018Sinking House<\/em> is a message of warning, and hope, to communities across the world \u2013 including leaders gathering at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) \u2013 to address the issues, reach for lifelines and act now against the intensifying threat of climate change\u2019. This is just one example of a flurry of contemporary COP26 related creativity I\u2019ve been following in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

There will be lots of material culture on display both during and after COP26. I am fascinated by material culture, and what lies behind and goes into the construction of artefacts, for as folklorist Henry Glassie points out, \u2018we live in material culture, depend upon it, take it for granted, and realise through it our grandest aspirations\u2019. We make, use, gift, look at and interact with objects to express relationality with other humans (living, dead and future generations), with other-than-human beings, and with the world around us. This is highly relevant as we contemplate what we\u2019ve done to the planet and what needs to be done now.<\/p>\n

In relation to environmental crises generally, and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in\u00a0Glasgow\u00a031 October\u201312 November 2021 specifically, numerous artists and other creative practitioners have been \u2018materialising\u2019 the global concerns raised by climate change and the need for urgent action. Here I\u2019m drawing attention to just a few of the ways in which increasing numbers of people have become involved in acts of material creative activity of various types, as through material culture they seek to express their concerns, demand change and raise awareness of the pressing issues facing the world. From individual creations to nationwide and international collaborative projects, people are finding ways to provoke thought, and to give expression to their anger, fears and determination.\u00a0 As one crafter put it, it\u2019s about making something to make a difference.<\/p>\n

Stormy Seas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"STORM<\/a>

STORM by Vision Mechanics, Saturday 2nd Oct\u00a02021, on Storm Walk to Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine. Photograph courtesy of Scottish Maritime Museum.<\/p><\/div>\n

Environmental concerns and climate awareness are of course triggered and expressed through a variety of media. The broadcast of the BBC programme Blue Planet II<\/em> in 2017, highlighting the problem of plastic pollution in the world\u2019s oceans, is credited with an extraordinary rise in environmental awareness and practical responses in relation to the plastic problem; the proprietor of an open-air fruit and vegetable stall in Bath, for example, very directly dates the upsurge in popularity of his business and people\u2019s desire not to have pre-packaged produce to that programme. Such triggers have significant outcomes if they can help move people beyond the despair of what is happening to thinking about practical means through which they can address issues.<\/p>\n

A deliberately striking, creative response to the problem of pollution and climate change was the creation of STORM<\/a>, a ten-metre tall \u2018goddess of the sea\u2019 made from recycled materials, the creation of Symon Macintyre\/ Vision Mechanics. STORM first appeared for the launch of Scotland\u2019s official year of Coasts and Waters 2020\/2021, and after Covid restrictions STORM has been out and about again throughout Scotland, being the focal point in October of a \u2018Storm Walk\u2019 from Irvine Beach Park to the Scottish Maritime Museum there, after a \u2018Community Clean Up\u2019. Works of art such as this raise awareness and create temporary \u2018ambient activism\u2019 in a variety of locations, arresting the attention of both participants and bystanders. The Scottish Maritime Museum is also hosting Climate Change Activism: Protest Posters Workshop<\/a> for both the 12-15 and 16+ age groups at the end of COP26,\u00a0to encourage ongoing grass roots creativity and involvement.<\/p>\n

\"Mermaids\u2019<\/a>

Mermaids\u2019 Tears, based on Kurt Jackson\u2019s original artwork, rendered by Louise Trotter in textiles (including string and plastic fibres collected from beaches), on display at Dovecote, Edinburgh, October 2021.\u00a0Photograph Marion Bowman.<\/p><\/div>\n

Among many other artistic responses to the plastics problems are artworks by artist Kurt Jackson, who in 2016 produced Mermaids\u2019 Tears, the title referring to an alternative name for nurdles, the tiny plastic pellets which wash up on shores in their billions. Although the original painting was sold as a fundraiser for Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), in 2021 ahead of COP26 Jackson approached the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh to suggest working with the famous tapestry studio to create a textile rendition of Mermaids\u2019 Tears<\/a>. This artwork was executed in collaboration with Dovecot weaver Louise Trotter, and forms the focal point of an exhibition running from October 2021 to February 2022 at Dovecote, alongside other awareness raising collage works by Jackson which feature painted sea and beachscapes, with washed up debris incorporated.<\/p>\n

However, in addition to the responses of professional artists and craftspersons, the environmental crisis and COP26 have inspired many others to make something to make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mass-craftivism\u2019 and Crafting Quakers<\/strong><\/p>\n

One undoubted side effect of the Covid 19 lockdowns has been the huge increase in people participating in, rediscovering or taking up craft activities like knitting, sewing, crochet and quilting, as for many the lockdowns opened up time for such pursuits. The Stiches for Survival<\/a> initiative, for example, describes itself as \u2018Mass-craftivism to put the Earth centre-stage at COP26\u2019, a mass participation project whereby assorted crafters are knitting, crocheting, stitching, and crafting in assorted ways panels to make up a 1.5 mile-long \u2018scarf\u2019 (representing the 1.5\u00b0C target in the Paris Agreement) of climate messages addressed to the COP26 negotiators. After being displayed at Glasgow Green during COP26, the plan is for the scarf to be creatively repurposed into blankets for refugees and other communities who need them, though with some sections being kept for an exhibition and further use in campaigning.<\/p>\n

\"Ballot<\/a>

Ballot Paper, textile panel. The Loving Earth Project, Scottish Maritime Museum\u00a0 Dumbarton, October 2021. Photograph Marion Bowman.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Religious Society of Friends, better known as Quakers, have long been involved in campaigns and practical activism in relation to peace and social justice issues.\u00a0 The Quaker Arts Network\u2019s Loving Earth Project is centred around asking people to address three big questions:<\/p>\n