The collapse of the mortgage system based on virtual credit and the consequent recession is an issue which has been virtually unavoidable in most political and media forums. This is certainly understandable; the recession has spurred an uncertainty—over the depth of its impact, the expected length of recovery, and the best cause of action—which lends itself to political discussion. The presence of a primarily economic threat, whether perceived or real, has for many brought about the need to critically reassess unchallenged notions of capitalism and modernity.
The Future is Unwritten, the current exhibition on at the Adam Art Gallery, explores the discursive potential that such uncertainty can create. The title of the exhibition shrewdly works on many levels; it plays on both the fact that the future is unknown as well as referring to the need to ‘unwrite’ traditional structures of power in order to move forward past this perceived time of crisis. Laura Preston, the curator of the exhibition, describes the artworks as “a series of propositions for embracing this time of uncertainty, where structures and systems that we have come to know are being brought into focus and redefined—from the mechanisms of the capitalist system and the imminent risks to the environment, to the modernist idea of progress”.
Underlying the exhibition is the question of the efficacy of art in promoting ideas, and its potential as a forum for political discussion. The aim to use art as a catalyst for political thought is clear from the outset, as Preston proposes that this exhibition “is a beginning rather than the culmination of an event”.
The interactive capabilities of art also reflect a third suggestion of the title’s exhibition: that the future will convey ideas and messages through form rather than text. Consequently, the very method of display is extremely significant. The work of artists is divided so that six artists showcase their artworks physically in the Adam Art Gallery, and three artists display their art online via the Adam Art Gallery website.
The location of the gallery on a university campus suggests an interesting complexity of issues. As a site of learning which aspires to spur critical thinking, the presence of the university could add potency to the artists’ ability to engage with political ideas. Simultaneously, the university environment which preferences intellectual thought could be perceived as one of the traditional methods of the very power structures that are now under scrutiny.
If you can’t get to the Adam Art Gallery, don’t worry, it’s coming to you. Artists from the exhibition will be submitting art for the next five issues of Salient. Make sure to keep an eye out for the art pages—whether or not you do is partly the issue at stake.
The Future is Unwritten
11 July–30 August 2009
In the building: Fiona Connor, William Hsu, Daniel Malone, Kate Newby, Martyn Reynolds, Peter Trevelyan
Online: Amit Charan, Narrow Gauge, Kelvin Soh
Curated by Laura Preston