The pictures you will see in this section are by Artstation (www.artstation.org.uk) an international art and media partnership formed in 1989 by visual artists Glenn Davidson and Anne Hayes, Cardiff, Wales. I wanted Artstation to provide visual images to highlight the themes expressed in the book as the artists are passion- ate about sustainability; indeed, Wales’ journey to embed the principle of future generations as a core value for a nation has illuminated their work.
At its core, Artstation uses art as a social, environmental and cultural regenerative community tool, explicitly challenging and changing people’s perceptions, often in unexpected and fun ways, to enable them to think differently about the world and their place in it. Their projects have galvanised community actions across the world. Artstation’s work provides a great metaphor for what I hope the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act will do in Wales – change the people of Wales’ perceptions and enable them to use the Welsh Government’s ‘permission to think differently’ to pursue a different path to a kinder, healthier, greener, more prosperous Wales, playing to our strengths whilst living within our environmental limits.
Some people are visual thinkers, I’m not. There is an age-old adage that governments campaign in poetry and govern in prose. While writing the book that explores the opportunity of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, I’ve found the images from Artstation’s projects not only to be imprinted clearly in my mind, but a symbol of hope of the value of peoples’ engagement with wicked issues for new and better outcomes. As a made in Wales project, they illuminate the text for me, I hope they do for you too. Enjoy!
Jane Davidson, May 2020
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Finding future’s way (Figure 1)
Exhibition focused on the on/off buttons that are sold on goods we don’t need, but with money we are enthused to spend, but never have enough of, and sold with instructions we don’t read. Where ‘ON’ turns to ‘NO’. (Figure 2)
Arts+Minds regeneration project in Tredegar, focussed on developing the social contract between residents and their landlord. Many creative strategies were used like repurposing a rundown under croft car- park. The immersive engagements laid the foundations for a community run residents association with money, space and political connections to voice their concerns. (Figure 3)
‘walking the shape of the nation’ ‘One Wales, One Planet ’ (Figure 6)
Riversonics
Walking the nation’s backbone, from source to sea,
listening and searching,
for citizens tranquil access
to the riparian zone of River Taff. (Figure 6)
Climate stalks the globe (Figure 5)
“to change the problem, you have to change the perception” Birmingham City Art Gallery 1987 ‘Dancing with Degas’ part of LOCOMOTION (Figure 4)
‘we are used to a stable world, where most things are predictable, but in earthquakes or the culture shock of a strange new environment, our usual assumptions break down. In this revolving world, we feel strange and lost but we discover ourselves through new experiences.’ Prof. Richard Gregory, Bristol University. (Figure 4)
Dewi the Avatar provided visitor interpretation Ynyslas Visitor Centre SSSI nature reserve. At his largest Dewi the avatar is like national government, at his smallest he becomes a citizen in the map expressing different scales and points of view.
Artmap included creative research about Landmap, Welsh government’s GIS data base used by Natural Resources Wales for landscape management. (Figure 7)
Immaterial, architectural paper and air installation planned and made with citizens to celebrate the architect, Leslie Martin’s ideas for and about citizens access encoded in the beautiful design of Royal Festival Hall built in 1949.(Figure 8)
Anchor Peoples are the working people who could be left behind following closure of the Communities First government programme. (Figure 9)
The Anchor Peoples voices at the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) remind politicians that poverty and inequity remain and that the best solutions are found in dialogue with community. (Figure 9)
ARTMAP: a film posing questions about natural and social regeneration. (Figure 10)
ARTMAP: a film posing questions about natural and social regeneration. (Figure 10)
‘Send a Friend to Sea: local artists, marine and landscape specialists help local citizens look back at where they live in the landscape from the perspective of the sea, for the first time’. (Figure 13)
‘An experience providing a new perspectives on their lives.’ (Figure 13)
Film of the fluid dynamic sounds of the local Hong Kong honeybee, Apis Cerana. A membrane separates two fluids in an experiment 1/40 of the width of a human hair. (Figure 11)
Children from Garth Primary School enact the plight of bees everywhere. Their own Bee Dance was created with artists, exploring the out- door classroom where they have become beekeepers, selling honey to their wider community. (Figure 12)
Inside/outside, sought to externalise views of young offenders held in Parc Prison, Bridgend. (Figure 14)
Words and text messages spread to the outside world were published on BBC screens in the Cardiff city centre where passing shoppers were able to respond to messages from young offenders inside prison through text messaging. (Figure 14)
A film recorded people responding through TXT2 artists software with messages for the young writers. (Figure 14)
Paperwork suspends lives caught in the asylum seekers system.
Having the right paperwork can save the life of refugee or asylum seeker. Paperwork creates and maintains the potentials of the lives within the system. Paperwork creates unliveable and discontinuous lives.
Having paperwork can create new possibilities.
The jump is a ‘user language’ that asylum seekers are using to symbolise the statistic that only 4% of them are permitted to stay in Europe, 96% are sent home.
Paperwork 2000: working with asylum seekers at Le Petite Chateau Brussels.
Harmonisation of migration policy remains the most challenging issue facing the future generations of Europe. (Figure 15)
Anchor Peoples are the working people who could be left behind following closure of the Communities First government programme. The Anchor Peoples voices at the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) remind politicians that poverty and inequity remain and that the best solutions are found in dialogue with community.
Figure 1: ‘Bee Hieroglyph’, 2016, Digital Graphic, from 5,000-year bone carving part of ‘Finding Futures Way’ exhibition, Hong Kong University Artists, 2014-16.
Figure 2: ‘No Switch’, 2009. image from ‘Climate for Change’ exhibition, FACT Liverpool, commissioned by R8R.
Figure 3: Wizard of Oz film screening in St Georges Court under croft from ‘Yellow Brick Road’, 2017, Arts + Minds regeneration project in Tredegar, South Wales focussed on developing the social contract between residents and their landlord.
Figure 4: ‘Dancing with Degas’ from Locomotion 1987, Birmingham City Art Gallery, focussed on changing perception.
Figure 5: ‘Climate Stalks the Globe’, 2008. National Museum of Wales, Climate Change exhibition.
Figure 6: ‘Riversonics’, 2015, was a collaboration with Welsh School of Architecture. The work became a curriculum study for young architects.
Figure 7: ‘Artmap’, commissioned by Countryside Council for Wales, 2003-7. Presented in at European Parliament to tourism networks and European Landscape conference in Cardiff; also May You Live in Interesting Times (MYLIIT2009) Festival at Chapter Art Centre, Cardiff: 2009.
Figure 8: ‘Immaterial’, 2000, Royal Festival Hall, London, architectural paper and air installation planned and made with citizens.
Figure 9: ‘Peoples Palace: After Magritte, 2018’. Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, Exhibition image (avail- able for use in colour only): digital montage artwork by Glenn Davidson & Chris Coppock. Below: installation at Senedd 2018.
Figure 10: From ‘Fire’, 2004, 4 mins. film, from Artmap, commissioned by Countryside Council for Wales, 2003-7.
Figure 11: Sonic representation of bees in water from exhibition film, ‘Finding Future Way’, 2017. Hong Kong University, 2015-17.
Figure 12: ‘Bee Dance’ 2018, Garth Primary School, near Maesteg, Wales, Arts Council for Wales Lead Creative Schools Scheme, 2019.
Figure 13: ‘Send a Friend to Sea’, 2018 a collaboration with Rob Owen, Sue Rice and David Llewellyn (BRO). SAFTS is an Arts and Heritage Lottery project commissioned by Swansea Council and Gower Landscape Partnership, Gower residents look back at their home from the sea, they gain new perspectives about where they live – their natural Welsh heritage.
Figure 14: ‘TXT2Inside/Outside’, 2012, a collaboration with Cardiff University and University of Glamorgan academic departments of social science, computer science and law.
Figure 15: ‘Paperwork (the impossible jump for asylum seekers)’, 2000, commissioned by Cardiff 2008 as part of the European Capital of Culture bid for 2008.
All above images are the copyright Artstation.