Shona Illingworth, artist and Reader in Fine Art, has co-organised two upcoming events which form part of a forthcoming art installation entitled ‘Topologies of Air’.
‘Topologies of Air’ examines the impact of accelerating geopolitical, technological and environmental change on the composition, nature and use of airspace. The work questions the terms by which airspace is currently understood, and invites us to look up and consider the air above their heads not as a void, free space, but as a multi-layered, complex cultural and legal space that is shared and personal, with a long history and rapidly-changing future. ‘Topologies of Air’ is commissioned and produced The Wapping Project and will be exhibited at Bahrain National Museum in 2020 before touring to The Power Plant, Toronto, in 2021.
The first event is Sky Forum, organised by Sharjah Art Foundation and The Wapping Project which will take place today, Friday 11 October 2019 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The forum will bring together experts across history, culture, astronomy and space science in three panel discussions to explore the past, present and future relationship between people in the Arabian Gulf region and the sky as well as wider transformations of the composition, nature and use of airspace close to Earth and outer space beyond. The event will feature a conversation between Shona and Marta Michalowska, Artistic Director of The Wapping Project, which will also form an integral part of ‘Topologies of Air’.
The second event is The Airspace Tribunal, an international public forum established by Shona and Professor Nick Grief of Kent Law School, which will take place on Monday 14 October 2019 in Sydney, Australia. The tribunal is a hearing which invites representations from experts across a range of disciplines and lived experience to consider whether we need increased protection regarding the radical transformation of airspace. The hearing argues that the associated threats to human rights are not adequately addressed by the current legal framework, and also forms part of the installation.
The Airspace Tribunal’s inaugural hearing took place at Doughty Street Chambers, London in September 2018. Each hearing is being recorded and transcribed to form the drafting history of the proposed new human right.
Further information and tickets for Sky Forum can be found here:
http://sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/events/sky-forum
Further information and tickets for The Airspace Tribunal can be found here:
www.thebiganxiety.org/events/shona-illngworth/
Image credit: Flight Path with Ash – Blue North Atlantic Airspace, Working Still, Shona Illingworth. With thanks to NATS.