Evidence and participation

From broadcast, to relationships, to participation

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the digital age for science is the shift from the ‘broadcast’ model, where a central authority disseminates information, to a ‘conversation’ model whereby someone generates information and others comment, share and add to it (Luers and Kroodsma 2014). Getting this wrong helps explain some of the big dislocations between science and public policy over the last few decades, including climate change, vaccination, immigration and biodiversity.

What role can art play? Nicolas Bourriaud’s (2002) book Relational Aesthetics describes a trend in conceptual art away from gallery-based work towards time- and place-based artworks which emphasis dialogue, engagement and community. More recently authors such as François Matarasso and Claire Bishop have analysed the emergence participatory art, where the artist is collaborator and co-producer of an ‘artwork’ with the audience, who become participants.

Can we put these themes together?

ENGAGING WITH ABSTRACT DATA

One of the problems with climate change is that it happens slowly, perhaps invisibly, and in many cases a long way from where greenhouse gases are emitted.

In 2017 I ran an experiment to see whether and how art might engage people in climate change data. Participatory Data Visualisation of Climate Impacts in the Indus Valley (2017) was built at Tate Exchange by around 60 gallery visitors. I asked each visitor to paint a square of the data map, each square representing a change in precipitation (blue showing an increase, through to yellow showing drying). The group worked together, discussed issues relating to climate change, and expressed satisfaction at being co-creators of an artwork.

Rather than passively receive information about science, interactive artworks such as these aim to create a space for people to explore, critique, engage with and discuss science issues.

Geology Data Mural (2019) at the Yonder Climbing Centre took these considerations to a new scale. First the artwork was created in participatory way - with myself, Yonder’s staff and climbers taking turns to paint the various squares of data, which show the rocks and geology around in the geography around the centre. Having been painted, the mural sits now brooding above the budding climbers with only a few clues to help decode what the abstract assemblage of coloured squares means.

Flipping ownership of the narrative

Pieces of data can get stitched together to form policy narratives. These stories which might explain why trends and phenomena are problematic, for whom, and why we need to policy to address it. There are different ways that such narratives get made, from experts labouring for months over the perfect report to lobbyists crafting a sure-fire press release. In many cases these narratives fail to stimulate the intended action - not because they are wrong, but because people are fed up with being told what’s right.

Could we flip how narratives are created, using some of the insights from participatory art and relational aesthetics?

The Evidence Safari is an approach I have developed with colleagues at the Government Office for Science, the UK’s Policy Lab and Data Design. Evidence is curated into a physical space which allows individuals to explore and co-create their own narratives of that evidence. Rather than foisting a monolithic narrative on an audience, participants work in groups to weave own narratives. This results in a more diverse set of interpretations of data, and a group of people who more bought into the evidence because they have helped create meaning from it.

Does it need a message?

The art world generally rails against didacticism, in other words imposing an obvious message into an artwork - it starts to look like propaganda or advertising, where visual techniques are used to influence people to a given end.

It’s better to create space and time for people to explore an issue and arrive at their own conclusions. This is more ethical, and may mean whatever ideas people take away from an artwork, they will be more committed to.

The two data pieces above have tried to do this, but a collaboration with Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture, Government Art Collection and The Mill community centre pushed this approach to another level with The Joke’s On Us! show.

The Government Art Collection lent The Mill, based in Walthamstow, an artwork called Joke Stack by the British artist Peter Liversidge, comprising 10 screen-printed jokes told by famous comedians.

For many Waltham Forest residents, ‘culture’ has previously been seen as ‘not for me’, associated with inaccessible gallery spaces and gentrification. I curated this show, and gave it a radically participatory flavour. The Mill challenged its regulars to tell better jokes than the famous comedians. Over 150 jokes were written, told, shared, tweeted, emailed and videoed by locals - you can see them here.

There was no particular message in this show - instead an amazing array of jokes, ranging from the very good to very bad. But it did achieve important social outcomes, engaging a broad spectrum of citizens into an important civic initiative and building community links.