U(nu)sed and Abused: Social and Political Potentiality - Material, Manufacture and Abandoned Sites

This proposal draws on the creative practice of Andrew Livingstone and Megan Randall and specifically focuses on three projects embedded within the post-industrial landscape. Within this visual presentation the speakers will examine their creative practice in relation to the post-industrial landscape through artworks situated in abandoned locations in Hartlepool, Sheffield, and in reference to the 621 abandoned housing estates in Ireland. The value of site (abandoned) as a means for artistic production will be explored with reference to ‘material’ and ‘manufacture’ and how these create the potential for socially and politically engendered practice. The abandoned industrial landscape acts both as a grounded location for creativity as will be explored by Randall and as point of departure as Livingstone will discuss in the work Surfeit 621, where material in this case ‘brick/clay’ has become politicised in its relation to abandoned sites. This presentation aims to elucidate some of the key factors in approaching, working with and evaluating the post-industrial landscape as a means for artistic production