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With the UK government’s new commitment to nuclear energy, let’s re-visit some of those old recurring debates around clean energy, safety, costs, proliferation and waste in today’s world of climate change … Then again, do we really want to involve ourselves in polarised shouting matches, where facts seem as elusive as consensus? Perhaps there are ways of approaching this from fresh perspectives. Or we could just go to an East London art opening instead and have a nice glass of wine.
Ten years after our Atomic exhibition, The Arts Catalyst returns to the theme of nuclear power with an exhibition of new commissions by Simon Hollington & Kypros Kyprianou, and Chris Oakley. Chris Oakley’s new film ‘Half-life’ looks at the histories of Harwell, birthplace of the UK nuclear industry, and the new development of fusion energy technology. The film examines nuclear science research through a historical and cultural filter. Simon Hollington & Kypros Kyprianou’s installation, ‘The Nightwatchman’, is the outcome of their residency with the British Atomic Nuclear Group (BANG). It merges changing perceptions of the nuclear power industry over its 50 year history into a single immersive narrative environment.
The exhibition is commissioned and produced by The Arts Catalyst with SCAN, and will be at the Nicholls and Clarke Building in Shoreditch High Street, East London (opening Thu 13 November and then open 14 – 16, 20 – 23, 27 – 30 November 2008.
Two discussion events will accompany the exhibition – a ‘Nuclear Talkaoke’ with The People Speak on Friday 14 November and a Nuclear Forum with the RSA Art & Ecology on Friday 28 November. A
So, in the spirit of Nuclear, here is the first of our ‘Handy Tips for the New Nuclear Age’: How to Survive a Terrorist Nuclear Attack:
Nicola Triscott 