Oil and the City (Pilot 2005)

by urbanNovember

in partnership with Peacock Visual Arts

An exhibition at Aberdeen Maritime Museum, 22 October – 6 November 2005
supported by Aberdeen City Council and the Vederlagsfondet (Norway)

Oil and the City is a long-term, evidence-based arts project in Aberdeen. It researches what impact the oil industry has on Aberdeen’s social, political, economical and cultural structure. Oil truly has changed the face of Aberdeen ever since it first appeared in the early 1960s: within only one week, for example, over 30’000 people have come to Aberdeen just to see the oil industry celebrating itself for the 16th time in a row.

Since March 2005 artists, academics, and the public have met on multiple occasions to study the relationship of the oil industry and the City of Aberdeen, to raise questions, and to find answers in talks, discussions and debates. urbanNovember artists have been working all summer on three projects that are now going on display at the Maritime Museum.

Bill Thompson explores the sounds and images of an offshore oil rig in his multiple-speaker-plus-video installation “toward sublimity”. He says: “The sounds and images experienced by the men and women who spend so much of their time on these rigs are indeed some of the most beautiful, intense, and unique in the world.”

Duncan Hart asks himself – and us – if we are “Petro-dependent?” Diaries, photos, vegetables and artefacts tell the stories of his quest to live a life without petrochemicals. His experiments lasted from 3 days to 3 weeks and involved such areas as habitation, food, heat and light, clothing and hygiene. “How far can I go?” he asks, “What will I discover? Can I kick the habit?”

For the video “The Tale of the Tiger” the New Social Art School featuring, Anne-Britt Rage, Eva Merz and Kristina Lauche, interviewed six people working for or with the oil industry, ranging from a female helicopter pilot to the general secretary of an oil workers’ union. They tell their story of oil, people and politics and their concerns, ranging from workforce and gender issues to environmental questions, renewable energy and comparisons between Norway and UK oil politics.

Oil and the City 2005 is a pilot project, aimed to test the many formats of producing evidence-based art and involving the public in artist-led research. urbanNovember plans to continue discussion and artists’ work for future projects in 2007 and 2008.

urbanNovember are (in alphabetical order) Duncan Hart, Aberdeen-born and –based, Kristina Lauche, lecturer in psychology at the University of Aberdeen, Eva Merz, danish photographer and artist, based in Aberdeen, Anne-Britt Rage, norwegian artist, currently based in Berlin, Bill Thompson, composer and sound artist from Austin, Texas, now in Aberdeen, Peter Troxler, producer and project manager, Aberdeen and Lucerne (Switzerland).
—ends.

Audio preview of “toward sublimity” (mp3, 11.9 MB, streaming) [click]

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Bill Thompson. Photo by Eva Merz.

Duncan Hart. Photo by Craig Barrowman.

(from left): Eva Merz, Anne-Britt Rage, Kristina Lauche. Photo by Eva Merz.

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