New exhibition at Timespan explores themes of 'energy transition and climate change'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A NEW contemporary art exhibition opens at Timespan Museum and Art Institution, Helmsdale, tomorrow (June 17) at 4pm.
“Beatrice: Transition under Petrocapitalism” draws its title from the Beatrice oil field, located less than 20 miles off the coast of Helmsdale.
Beatrice began operations in 1980 but the field was finally decommissioned in 2017. The 84-turbine Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm has been built close to the oil field.
The exhibition explores themes of energy transition and climate change and features the work of artists Oliver Ressler, Tanja Engelberts and Sue Taylor.
The exhibition also looks at whether an economy deeply entrenched in fossil fuel can truly embrace renewable energy.
Timespan director and curator Giulia Gregnanin said: “Beatrice, the former oil rig and now wind farm standing prominently in front of Helmsdale, encapsulates the complexities surrounding the shift towards renewables.
“Through this exhibition, we aim to challenge the feasibility of envisioning a transition in a petro-capitalist framework, questioning whether it is a paradoxical endeavour.
“The artists involved have dedicated years, even decades, to grappling with these questions, and I am truly delighted to have their perspectives enrich Timespan's ongoing research.”
The exhibition features artefacts from the oil industry as well as moving images, drawings, paintings, diaries and research works.
Tanja Engelberts reflects on the post-industrial landscape left by the oil and gas industry.
Her video work, Decom, shot in one of the few European decommissioning yards, raises questions about the fate of oil and gas platforms, exploring everything from material disposal to their future.
Englberts also presents the publication Forgotten Seas, a six-year photographic exploration of her extensive research across the North Sea.
Oliver Ressler (Austria, 1970) presents the video documentary Carbon and Captivity, which delves into carbon capture and storage (also known as CCS).
This procedure - or better a technofix - promises to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the oil refinery process.
Ressler’s work, filmed at the Technology Centre Mongstad in Norway, unveils the misleading promises of this technology and its detrimental effects on delaying the necessary decarbonization, ultimately deepening our dependence on fossil fuels.
Over the course of 30 years, artist Sue Jane Taylor created a visual record of the rise and fall of the North Sea oil and gas industry, from the Scottish oil boom to the decommissioning programme, and the transition towards renewable energy and wind farms.
Through drawings, paintings, diaries, and moving images, she depicts the untold stories of the humans, tools, machinery, employed by the corporations, validating their presence, voice and existence.
The exhibition includes a dedicated section that delves into the institutional history of Timespan.
This portion sheds light on how BritOil played a pivotal role in the establishment of Timespan in 1976. It critically examines the industry's influence on shaping the narrative surrounding fossil fuels through its extensive support of cultural institutions.
Free of charge, the exhibition runs from until September 30.
