In his residency, Dan Bourke addresses polemic issues within the art world and investigates what constitutes a beneficial art practice. Concerned by a society filled with worthless objects, Bourke will question the practicality of the process behind making physical art. Using a framework he describes as the ‘economy of making’, he will explore the obstacles in creating ethical, efficient, socially functional and sustainable art.
By discerning what ideals art must aspire to, Bourke is faced with issues such as the public’s perception of visual art and its perceived inaccessibility. Despite its potential to reach and engage with huge numbers of people, Bourke believes that art is limited by the stereotype of the artist as isoteric and self-indulgent. During his residency, he will devise approaches to rethinking art as a form of mass media. These include challenging culture’s obsession with the kitsch and obsolete, which he believes only inhibits the production of functional objects, and determining how best to transmit information through art.