The result of all this hard work is the curation of two challenging new shows – featuring work by students and established artists - exploring the connections between conflict and poverty. As part of their research process, the group also had a long, hard look at the strengths and limitations of high art taking on global politics.

I asked Matthew Stone, a hip, passionate and articulate artist and project mentor, whether art really can be political in today’s market-driven, commercial times. He maintains that ‘making art at all is a political statement… silence is as much of a statement… a political reaction.’ While recent developments in art seem to have pulled away from that ever-crumbling utopian ideology, reflecting disillusionment with politics, Stone sees now as a time for reengaging, but perhaps in a different way. As an example, he points me to his blog, tellingly named Optimism As Cultural Rebellion, documenting various performances, actions and ideas. He goes on to describe the thinking ctrl.ALT.SHIFT, ‘Personally I think it’s interesting that there’s an art element to this because it does involve all that thought and all that history of artists who have made political work and failed.’

During group discussions the idea of how to make art around a political issue that can seem pretty distant (Christian Aid’s focus is current conflicts in Columbia) was a main concern. One of the group’s solutions was to consider conflict from a more accessible angle, seeing it as something we share as part of our humanity, rather than something that separates us. The group experimented with 20-second public ‘interventions’, bringing conflict to a level we can all grasp – perhaps making it easier to imagine reaching out into difficult situations worldwide. Mentor T-Magic, a graffiti artist and sculptor who has worked extensively with underprivileged young people, described some initial tactics: ‘We did a performance creating havoc in a CD shop, to test how many CDs we could knock down before we got kicked out.’ The group also staged a dramatic argument in a shop window! Anna, one of the art students who will be exhibiting, points out that ‘there’s lots of different ways of saying something or not saying something’. Matthew Stone agrees, that art is often more successful when it does not take a straightforward approach or have a political agenda, ‘Something more abstract or open, rather than providing an answer, opens up a question.’

Like Stone, project mentor and monumental installation artist Graham Hudson (who is due to show at the new Saatchi Gallery this year) insists that ‘all work is political, all art is a political gesture’ and will be presenting new work in BALTIC’s street and stairwell . But he concedes that while ‘it’s good to put your money where your mouth is’, to add your artistic voice to a worthy cause, the sad truth is that ‘if Robbie Williams did a pop concert that would get more reaction.’ For Hudson, the impact of political consciousness raising is measured a little closer to home, as it brings about personal and creative change that may just spread beyond the group of artists involved: ‘every experience you have will affect how you work a little bit… that will alter everyone’s tactics, it will come out whether you want it to or not.’ The fourth mentor Benjamin Wachenje confirmed this effect, describing that while his career in illustration relies on client specifications, rather than a purely personal vision, the project has made him more aware of global politics, and more able to take action.

I imagine Oscar Wilde making his comment on the usefulness of art with a wry smile, intending to provoke debate - The Picture of Dorian Gray, where that quote originates, itself has an uncomfortable ethical edge. In a similar way, the artists involved in ctrl.ALT.SHIFT have found creative, visual and conceptual strategies to face, explore and communicate difficult issues.  According to BALTIC’s new director, Godfrey Worsdale, ‘The project demonstrates that art has a significant part to play not only in culture but also in cultural change.’ All those who remain skeptical should get themselves along to the show and judge for themselves.

-Becky Hunter

ctrl.ALT.SHIFT, Graham Hudson, Matthew Stone and work by students from Newcastle University’s LifeWorkArt professional development programme, BALTIC, March 13 –April 26, 0191 478 1810. www.balticmill.com

Matthew Stone: http://optimismasculturalrebellion.blogspot.com
Christian Aid: http://ctrlaltshift.co.uk

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