ABSTRACT
Written for an exhibition-related publication, the title ‘points of departure’ references critical approaches to practice-based research, methodologies, and modes of communication through art. It also references the changing economy of the North-East of England, international shipping networks, economic globalization, and, crucially, ways in which colonialism and industrialization were inextricably interrelated. It references the interest in the ‘industrial sublime’ manifest in work by several artists in late 20th century Britain and reflects on artistic practice as a means of visual critical investigation.
I first met John Kippin and Chris Wainwright in 1985 and viewed their 1989 exhibition Futureland on tour in Cardiff. For Futureland Now, shown at the Laing Gallery, Newcastle, 2012, I acted as co-curator with the two artists and facilitated the publication that also includes an ‘in conversation’ with the artists reflecting on their practice, art education and what art can do. Chris Wainwright died suddenly in 2016. The inclusion of the essay in this collection testifies not only to the work of Kippin and Wainwright but also to the loss of a friend.
