Material Nuclear Culture

Opening this Friday is "Material Nuclear Culture" at KARST, Plymouth.  Curated by Ele Carpenter this group show also is the premiere of our new work "Courageous", which was filmed on the HMS Courageous, a nuclear submarine which is docked at the Devenport Military Base, also in Plymouth.

As well as our new work the exhibition also features  James Acord, Erika Kobayashi, David Mabb, Susan Schuppli, Kota Takeuchi and  Thomson & Craighead.  The show opens on 17 June 2016 and runs till 13 Aug 2016

The exhibition highlights the complexity of archiving the cultural legacy of submarine heritage within a wider discussion of how to comprehend the deep time challenges of radioactive waste storage.  This year will mark the end of the Royal Navy fifteen-year public consultation on how to dismantle British nuclear submarines, and where to store the reactor vessels. The Submarine Dismantling Project Advisory Group is the first MOD public consultation with expert advisors, NGO’s and statutory agencies that represent a range of experience and political concerns. The exhibition takes place in the spirit of the advisory group and their commitment to an open and frank discussion about the issues of nuclear dismantling and radioactive waste management.

Material Nuclear Culture exhibition is produced by KARST and Arts Catalyst, curated by Ele Carpenter with support from: Arts Council England; Goldsmiths, University of London; University of Westminster; Sasakawa Foundation; Bildmuseet, Umeå University, Sweden. The research and development of the exhibition was supported by AHRC, npo S-Air and the Daiwa Foundation.  Nuclear Culture is a curatorial research project by Ele Carpenter in partnership with Arts Catalyst and Goldsmiths University of London. Nuclear Culture commissions for this exhibition include: Crowe & Rawlinson, Thomson & Craighead, David Mabb and Susan Schuppli; Kota Takeuchi is Artist in Residence at Arts Catalyst, July 2016.