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Tate face icy response from protest group over BP sponsorship
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'Liberate Tate performance at Tate Modern'
Liberate Tate use Arctic ice to criticise gallery’s sponsorship by oil and gas giant.
An art activist collective exploring the role of creative intervention in social change have carried out their latest unofficial performance in Tate Modern. The action was designed to highlight "Tate's complicity in BP's controversial oil extraction practices around the world."
Liberate Tate carried a 55 kg chunk of Arctic ice onto a sledge and walked it in procession across the Thames on the Millennium Bridge and into the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. They placed the ice at the bottom of the Turbine Hall, standing silently around the melting ice for 15 minutes before leaving the building.
The Arctic ice had been donated to the Occupy London protest by an Arctic researcher who had brought it back to the UK.
Terri Gosnell of Liberate Tate who carried one corner of the sledge said: "Arctic ice is melting at record rates as a result of climate change. The irony is that the same oil companies like BP that carry a lot of responsibility for climate change, are using the melting ice as an opportunity to drill for more oil in previously inaccessible areas. And Tate is still maintaining that this is a perfectly respectable company to be taking money from."
Chris Sands of Liberate Tate added: "BP have an appalling record of leaks and spills in their Arctic drilling in Proudhoe Bay, Alaska, and now they are expanding their operations in Arctic Canada and Russia too. Arctic oil drilling is incredibly risky because of the adverse conditions and the difficulty of access for potential clean up operations. Tate is aligning itself with a company that it gambling with some of out last pristine eco-systems as a means of maintaining its profit margins."
Previous actions by the group include hanging dead fish and birds from dozens of giant black helium balloons in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern's 10th birthday celebrations.
The Tate's partnership with BP has faced criticism from some quarters following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate responded: "The fact that BP had one major incident in 2010 does not mean we should not be taking support from them."
A 5 minute video clip of the Liberate Tate performance can be seen here »
Pictures of the performance can be seen here »
Follow Liberate Tate on Twitter: @liberatetate
Jack Hutchinson
Jack Hutchinson is an artist, writer and educator. A specialist on the role of digital technology within the visual arts, he is Communications Officer for AIR: Artists Interaction and Representation through a-n The Artists Information Company. His writing has featured in a diverse range of publications, including Dazed and Confused, Garageland, Guardian Culture Professionals, Twin Magazine, a-n Magazine and Schweizer Kunst. Based in London at Bow Arts Trust, he is an active campaigner for artistic, legislative and economic measures that enhance artists' working lives and professional status. His multi-disciplinary visual practice has featured in solo and group exhibitions across the UK.
jackhutchinsonair@googlemail.com | www.jackjhutchinson.wordpress.com
First published: a-n.co.uk January 2012
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Climate change will happen despite human beings and their activities - get over it. Standing around a block of ice in silence - quite nice.
posted on 2012-01-28 by Moira West
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In order for the Tate modern to continue it has to take the filthy doller.What it dose with it is another matter,as long as it keeps up its profile of presenting the best in world art for every one it will all ways be incompromise were it gets its funding from. we all are compromised every day with what we take from oil.We just have to continue getting the message across by what ever means there are always alternatives,we have to bring the oil men with us and make them aware of our responsiblities we all have for this planet.Man has only got this far by cooperation and what ever future we have will only be secured by cooperation.
posted on 2012-01-28 by Tim Knight