billboard commission #1

Chris Alton : Crudely Plucking the Strings

11/05/18 - 12/11/18

Spit & Sawdust’ first Billboard Commission was Crudely Plucking the Strings by Chris Alton.

Crudely Plucking the Strings is Chris Alton’s re-imagining the 1607 flood of the Bristol Channel, which may have been caused by a tsunami. A woodcut print is one of the only surviving images of this disastrous event from the time, and here Chris has reworked it, to reflect on contemporary concerns.

As a result of the 1607 flood 2,000 or more people drowned and houses and villages were swept away. The local economy along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary was wrecked by the destruction of 200 square miles of farmland and its livestock. It’s thought that Cardiff was the most badly effected town.

St. Mary's Church, the original woodcut's focal point, has been replaced by Hinkley Point C; the nuclear power station that sits on the southern bank of the Bristol Channel. When it is finally completed, Hinkley Point C will be the most expensive power station in the world. It perches on the edge of the land, vulnerable to erosion and the extreme weather that are being experienced globally. By mimicking the style of the original woodcut print, Crudely Plucking the Strings reflects on our future and past, and casts a sceptical eye on nuclear power as an answer to climate change. In many ways, this science fiction inspired image operates as an “early warning system”* and a call to action. 

“I've always thought that people living in the cosy suburbia of Western Europe and America never appreciated just how vulnerable we were to climate disasters.” JG Ballard to Travis Elborough, 1962.

The billboard artwork was accompanied by a short story and film that screened on the opening night.

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The Billboard Commission’s aim is to provide a large-scale, site-specific platform for artists to develop new work, and increase the visibility of the creative programme at Spit & Sawdust. The first two Billboard Commissions were curated by Freya Dooley and are supported by The Arts Council of Wales. 

Chris Alton is an artist and curator based in London, whose practice spans documentary film, music videos, online interventions, disruptive design, live events and exhibitions. Whether deploying disco music in opposition to fascism or playing table tennis in competition with aggressive architecture, his work interrogates symbolic manifestations of power.  He works to destabilise or subvert their logic, undermining their shaky foundations through humour and play. Commissions include; Adam Speaks, The National Trust, Croome, Worcestershire, 2017; and Keeley Round, Turf Projects, Croydon, 2016. Exhibitions include; You're Surrounded by Me, Turf Projects, Croydon, 2017 (group); Of the Sea, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, 2016 (group); Under the Shade I Flourish, xero, kline & coma, London, 2016 (solo); and Outdancing Formations, Edith-Russ-Haus, Oldenburg, 2015 (dual, with Marta Popivoda). Chris is currently a participant in Syllabus III, an alternative peer-led learning programme.

www.chrisalton.com / @chrisalton

(Images 1 & 2 by Freya Dooley, film still courtesy of the artist)