Artist takes on Fracking in London
Ahead of abstract painter Sam Peacock’s Fractured exhibition, we had quite a few questions about exactly what is fracking, and why is it the subject of his show? This latest series of works has seen the growth of Peacock’s paintings onto steel sheets denote sculptural elements. The controversial subject of fracking can be difficult to orient, but we want to ask, what does fracking mean to you?
If you have questions of your own, on Monday 2nd March Sam Peacock will be holding a question and answer session (times tbc ) on Twitter, follow the conversation at @CuriousDuke and @SamPeacockArt.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing is quite a controversial topic, why did it pique your interest?
Sam Peacock;Strangely enough, my father and me were discussing the possible impacts of what we had heard when the term "Hydraulic Fracturing" was in the local press back home in Rugby. Neither of us fully understood the process at the time, like I'd imagine many families across Britain were curious to what all this was about. Purely in layman’s terms and from what I have discovered the process with the site in Rugby involved a completely different way of extracting gas, rather than the conventional way of blasting the shale with a mixture of water and chemicals to release the gas through a portal.
Why did you immediately presume fracking was dangerous?
Rather than presume it was dangerous, I was more skeptical about the potential risks to the local environment and possible disposal of the water, mixed with chemicals and gases, which was to be used. Where would this occur, In Rugby, you have the river Avon passing through it which connects to a wider network of canals and streams, Would the water be sourced from here? What would that do to a river, which is not used, for fishing, but for other species of river dwelling animals that use the Avon to exist? Where would the waste water be disposed, companies in the UK have a terrible record of using waterways to dispose of waste water, is there enough trust with the voting public and the companies involved?
Do you see any positives to the drilling for shale gas?
This question is in direct relation to whether homes in the UK would see a fall in their utility prices. But lets look at facts here, North sea oil at present provides the UK with about half of its energy needs, production of North sea oil fell at about 6pc per year between 1999 and 2010, the cost of extracting a barrel of North Sea oil is growing by the year, upgrading equipment to explore for oil and is at its lowest rate ever. The referendum in Scotland last year would have made Scotland an oil rich state however. So there are issues going on which your average family in the UK may never fully understand, or wish to understand. Drilling for Shale gas could possibly supply the UK with its own source of energy, but the environmental impact this could have, surely outweighs any benefits of having cheaper energy. There will always be a divide in the UK on how we source our energy. In Australia, it has been used with consequence, which in itself is undeniable.
What is that strikes fear into the public about fracking? Is it the procedure? Running out of energy? Or perhaps over reliance on fossil fuels as a nation of renewable skeptics?
Firstly, Shale gas is an unconventional fossil fuel that has been formed over millions of years by decomposing plants trapped in by clay and silt. It's extracted from the earth by drilling a horizontal bore hole into the earth and through that well, blasting a mixture of sand water and other chemicals into the shale to release the gases. When we talk about a process behind the artwork, if that is not enough to get you thinking, how do I replicate a similar structure of practice onto a steel plate to create work, then surely, you should go back to the office job. Look, we as a nation need to find a way of utilising natural resources such as wind, wave, solar, friction to create enough energy to supply an ever increasingly populous and greedy country; that's the mission here. By 2050 we need to create a third of all our energy directly from renewables, that's the realistic target, by that point I will be about 75 years old, we need to build directly now for our grandchildren's generation. This should be about ensuring that they have a world that is still able to meet their needs, or a generation able to meet the worlds needs.
The process is often stated as harmful and destructive, and you have borrowed aspects for your new series of work – ‘Fractured’, why it is that? It could be seen as campaigning for, rather than against.
Oh completely. Loved every minute of this. A few people have raised the questions regarding my last series, and the similarities between the two in regards to the use of colour, and texture, but not at all, I replicated the lower half of every piece with dental plaster and blasted turpentine at the top to fracture the plaster when it was heated, that was amazing fun, fireballs appearing whilst the plastic tubing which surrounds the copper divider melts into a blackened mess. I've probably contributed more to localised air pollution than fracking ever will. The questions regarding the colour? Red seems to represent this devil spirit which you can awaken in the work. Some of the preliminary work involved mixing sand, prestia mix and concrete together with ground flint to create a rock hard template, and then splitting it/ fracturing it with the sharp end of an axe, this was not as aesthetically pleasing as I was hoping, and that as they say was shelved for another day. I think a lot of beauty has appeared from the destructive methods I have employed here, more so than in "Ironsea" for example. As a painter/ artist, whatever we are labelled, we still have an obligation to challenge, whether it is for the human, the consciousness, and sexuality or in my case, the land and what is being put upon it.
Curious Duke Gallery Projects is hosting your exhibition to raise awareness of hydraulic fracturing and the pros and con’s of the procedure. Why do we need to know about it?
I am really engrossed in the "project" terminology you have employed here, it seems to do the idea justice, trying to keep an open mind can be difficult when creating. The awareness issues stems from the fact we live in a city, which you could in all intense and purpose probably, consider it its own country now. One in Seven of the population of the UK, which is extremely transient, lives here and works here. If you walk around zone 1 at night, the lights are on at all points in the offices; there are not many dark places. We need to understand as a city where all this energy is coming from, maybe we are happier living in the dark?
Does alternative energy carry any negatives? Are they as bad as each other? Why isn’t the UK pushing for renewable energy?
The main negative being storing the energy cannot be blamed on the source itself, this is a man made problem and rooted with the national grid it seems. What is needed is localised batteries to collect and store the energy, investment directly from central government to make this work, not private firms tasked with the responsibility of making it work. Too much of Britain has been sold off to the highest bidder already. Renewables can never be considered bad, nor can oil and gas, it’s how we utilise what we have, hence why we need a proper look at how we collect, store and supply what there is long term and not just a five year plan to keep businesses and shareholders content.
What are your future plans for Fractured? Will you continue with the project? Will your work take on wind farms and solar energy? A public art piece could be interesting.
Never did I image what a total can of worms I would open, that's base level naivety happening on my part. My analogue existence will always be challenged by the digital age; it’s inevitable. The work will continue, the understanding will grow alongside its output. Strange you mention Solar, as I have ideas in the pipe regarding this already. I'm not sure this is cut out for public art in this format, but an informative piece, which interacts with primary school children, could happen, seeing as the challenge now is to educate about renewables.
Both sides of fracking need to be discussed, and now! With the UK running out of natural resources, hydraulic fracturing has been championed as the new energy, as we struggle with storing wind and solar power. Fracking produces 300,000 barrels of energy a day with one Well being processed up to 18 times making it an economic argument, but always countered with the environmental and the fear of potential dangers. This March, Curious Duke Gallery will wade into the conversation hosting both parties in Fractured.
Can't wait until March? Email info@curiousdukegallery for the exhibition catalogue.
Curious Duke Gallery Projects hosts Fractured
PV Thursday 5th March 2015
5th - 11th March 2015
173 Whitecross Street
London
EC1Y 8JT
Nearest Tube: Old Street (exit 6 - 2 min walk) Barbican (5mins)
Contact: [email protected] or more information re: new premises/ the event/ interviews/ guest list.
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Written by Curious Duke Gallery blogger Sinéad Loftus.
Lover of all art and fluffy cats.