29 September 2019
Nuclear Culture: Learning From Deep Time
ONDRAF/NIRAS - National Institute for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Material, Kastelsedijk, Dessel, BE
Link: Learning From Deep Time imagines how the unbelievably long lifespan of radioactive waste can be visualised.
Date: 29 September 2019
Curated by: Ils Huygens (Z33)
Participants: Alexis Destoop, Andy Weir, Commonplace Studio, Jesse Howard & Tim Knapen, Thomson & Craighead, Maarten Vanden Eynde.
Triangular Trade investigates the influence of transport and trade of pivotal materials like rubber, oil, ivory, copper, diamonds, gold, cotton and uranium, but also people, on exponential economic growth, the creation of nations and other power structures. The project traces back the origin of the different materials and follows their (r)evolutionary paths as they are processed and transformed into 'world changing wonders'.
Alexis Destoop, Hourglass, 2019
Maarten Vanden Eynde, Half Life, 2019
The Installation for the Production of Monoliths (IPM) - where radioactive waste will be packed in concrete boxes in a few years time - forms the scenery for this exceptional art exhibition. The exhibition was created through a collaboration between the National Institute for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Material (NIRAS), the Z33 House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt and the Nuclear Research Center (SCK • CEN) and with support from the Flemish Community.
The projects are part of Z33 Research in collaboration with Nuclear Culture. Z33 Research articulates the broader subjects and lines of thought that Z33 seeks to address over a longer period of time, through exhibitions, productions, publications and other artistic projects. Z33 Research is based on an interdisciplinary approach and aims to connect visions of artists and designers with theoretical, scientific and philosophical thought and knowledge. Research, in this way, is not seen as a specific method or practice, but rather as an attitude, a questioning position and generous curiosity, that defines the way in which curators, artists and designers approach the world.
Dr Ele Carpenter is Curator of the Nuclear Culture project. Her curatorial research investigates nuclear aesthetics through commissioning new artwork, publishing, curating exhibitions, site visits and roundtable discussions in partnership with arts organisations and nuclear agencies.
