The works are determined by their environment
Tenneson & Dale, Extract from “Hung Parliament” Manifesto
On the bus on the way back from the studio this week, I sat next to a student who was very vocal about his disdain for another student who had clambered onto the bus with a home-made placard that had clearly been used that day in Manchester’s university fees protests. The former (loud-mouthed, cocky, disagreeable and abusive) student made several arguments about why he thought other students should not protest – the most baffling being “It’s not going to affect us anyway.” What a depressing conclusion for someone to come to. It got me thinking about responsibility…
Tenneson and Dale have just finished making our installation, “Hung Parliament” for the Harris Museum and Art Gallery. Throughout this process, and in undertaking the collaboration in general, we have a responsibility to listen to each other’s opinions; compromise; share the workload and, obviously, make the best work we can make. This responsibility however, does not end at the studio doors. We also have to produce work of a high standard and on time for the Museum. This responsibility however, does not end at the Museum doors. We have a responsibility to the audience to give them work they can understand and appreciate, regardless of whether they actually like it or not. Why would we bother putting the work in the public sphere otherwise? Work which takes the piss out of its audience is merely a shirking of responsibility – which is exactly what the student on the bus was advocating and is exactly why we’re in the mess we’re in.
