No better time for transformation

The following was written in response to a request for creative researchers to reflect on ‘creative research in isolation’. The full collection, alongside submitted visual materials will be published in May 2020.

Poster (exp1) (2018) (detail)

History-defining moments are always times of radical change. These critical junctures open “windows of opportunity” for dramatic and far-reaching reform (Blumenau, 2018). As a creative practice researcher, I see our current crisis as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reshape society and build a better future. Either that, or we accept escalating authoritarianism and allow the pandemic to only make existing inequalities worse. M.F. Weiner, paraphrasing the lamentable Winston Churchill, wrote “Never let a crisis go to waste” (1976). Churchill, the imperialist, was supposedly denoting the forging of unlikely bonds in the wake of World War II (Feske, 1996). Weiner’s article in the journal of Medical Economics, conversely, related to opportunities for improved public healthcare (1976). Rahm Emanuel, then-advisor to the Obama administration, expanded the adage in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, stating “You never let a serious crisis go to waste … It’s an opportunity to do things you thought you could not do before” (2020). Here we find ourselves in 2020, where global inequality has reached historically unprecedented levels. More than 70% of the global population live in countries where the wealth gap is widening. Australia is one of these (World Social Report 2020: Inequality In A Rapidly Changing World, 2020). Plainly, the system as it exists is not adequate in addressing the mounting crises we face. The transformative period ahead needs thought leaders: creative practitioners and researchers. 

Status Unknown, Dornoch intervention, 2019, digital print on archival matte paper, 59 x 43cm

The 1918 global flu epidemic led to the creation of national health services in several European nations. In The West, the Great Depression set the stage for the modern welfare state (Singleton, 2000). Having said that, the outcomes of these critical junctures are not always positive. The September 11 terror attacks on America spawned new conflicts which continue to this day, in the form of indefinite and uncertain occupations, marking the destruction of sacred lands. Surveillance of citizens expanded colossally (Maxwell, 2019). Now, in the time of COVID-19, the obstinate failure of our leaders to communicate clearly has triggered confusion, complacency and violence toward frontline workers. With a reactionary zeal, our leaders have blamed these outcomes on the public, the victims. Michael Bradley writes that “the roots of that reflex lie much deeper; they can be seen in every step…taken down the path of authoritarianism since September 11, 2001. In this moment of deep crisis, it is flourishing” (2020). We cannot be trusted to remain indoors, so our government has made it a crime to go out. The messaging is clear: These repressive measures are a punishment for our collective insubordination.

Status Unknown, Praxis 1 (Still), 2019

What is the role of creative researchers in this time of rising tyranny? We can reflect the world as we experience it, but we can also robustly engage in the discourse - and open our viewers to revolutionary perspectives. We can bring radical perspectives and ways of thinking to the forefront of the zeitgeist. There is a timely imperative to right the path ahead. Now, shopping centres and workplaces are unoccupied. Workers have a moment of solitude to stare back at the death spiral of late-stage capitalism and ask, “can we do better?”. Of course we can, and creative practitioners can lead this transformation. Now, more than ever, all eyes turn to art. What else to do with all this time at home but engage with films, music, games and literature? This “window of opportunity” for dramatic and far-reaching reform is ours to take, not just for us, but those less fortunate (Blumenau, 2018).

 The mega-wealthy are largely sheltered from the real impacts of the pandemic. The chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee counselled a small group of well-connected allies to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, long before making this known publicly. These wealthy and powerful individuals, warned of what was to come, sold off their stocks (Mak, 2020). The worst-affected victims of this crisis are those we have sadly come to expect: Indigenous Australians, refugees, migrants, people of colour and queer people (Bradley, 2020). Where then, from here?

A radical reshaping of our politics and society will not occur of its own will. This transformative period needs thought leaders. These can be creative practitioners and researchers. It should be, because the alternative is dire. Other industries and interest groups are relentlessly politically active. Banks, mining corporations and weapons manufacturers are right this second applying a chokehold grip on our government’s decision making through lobbying. So, what place does creative research hold in isolation? We can reflect the world we experience, but we can also robustly engage in the discourse, exposing our viewers to revolutionary perspectives. In the current political climate, the mere act of engaging is creative practice looks more and more radical. 

The COVID period ushers new challenges in the exhibition of creative work, and the means by which we seek critique from our peers and colleagues. On top of that, this state of segregation is creatively limiting for many. Galleries closed, places of making and learning empty, artworks unseen, shows postponed indefinitely. And yet, in the face of an inimical government and a Prime Minister whose foremost political tactic has been to kill trans children while inflaming resentment against religious and ethnic minorities, creative practitioners overcome (Buston, 2018; Evans, 2019; Karp, 2019; Taylor, 2019). While we are physically confined, our ideas must not be. 

‘Axis in space (finding a way)’ (detail) (2019)

References 

Blumenau, J. (2018). Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: Agenda Setting and Legislative Voting in Response to the EU Crisis. The Journal of Politics, 80(2), 462-478. doi:10.1086/694543

Bradley, M. (2020). Welcome to a brave new world, where citizens have to prove their innocence. Retrieved from https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/04/01/new-world-citizens-rights-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2HUb57WZeDFG3KW_FuDe8pAdfSQmlCx3JYlnf7tzelxHFgBu8GK15V-uc

Buston, T. (2018). 'Gender whisperers': Scott Morrison criticised for 'hateful' tweet about trans students. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/gender-whisperers-scott-morrison-criticised-for-hateful-tweet-about-trans-students

Colton, E. (2020). Rahm Emanuel reprises 'never let a crisis go to waste' catchphrase amid coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/rahm-emanuel-reprises-never-let-a-crisis-go-to-waste-catchphrase-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

Evans, S. (2019). Scott Morrison makes a mark on transgender signs. Retrieved from https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6357382/scott-morrison-makes-a-mark-on-transgender-signs/

Feske, V. (1996). From Belloc to Churchill : private scholars, public culture, and the crisis of British liberalism, 1900-1939. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Karp, P. (2019). 'Quite disturbing': South Sudanese community questions Jason Wood's move into ministry. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/27/quite-disturbing-south-sudanese-community-questions-jason-woods-move-into-ministry

Mak, T. (2020). Weeks Before Virus Panic, Intelligence Chairman Privately Raised Alarm, Sold Stocks. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818192535/burr-recording-sparks-questions-about-private-comments-on-covid-19

Maxwell, L. (2019). Insurgent truth : Chelsea Manning and the politics of outsider truth-telling. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Singleton, J. (2000). American Dole Unemployment Relief and the Welfare State in the Great Depression. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated.

Taylor, J. (2019). Scott Morrison criticised after saying transgender teens pressured by 'identity politics'. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/09/scott-morrison-criticised-after-saying-transgender-teens-pressured-by-identity-politics

Weiner, M. F. (1976). Don’t Waste a Crisis — Your Patient’s or Your Own. Medical Economics.

World Social Report 2020: Inequality in a rapidly changing world. (2020). United Nations Pub.