Above images of the recently published catalogue of the Sharjah Biennial 8, United Arab Emirates [25º 22’N, 55º 24’E] titled 'Still Life: Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change (Part II)' which includes installation shots of the exhibition as well as transcripts of the 3-day conference Latitudes organised in collaboration with the Royal Society of Art's Arts & Ecology programme (today the RSA Arts and Ecology Centre) back in April 2007 (+ info).

The symposium (images here) considered today’s uses and abuses of the ‘eco-’, notions of artistic agency and critical practice, as well as the role of the public realm in today’s artistic and institutional practices. How has it become fashionable (or profitable) to be seen to be eco? How has what we mean by ecology been transformed and evolved through the uses of terms such as ‘environmental’, ‘green’, ‘ethical living’, and so on?; How do some artists desire palliative results, while others offer strategies of friction or resistance? How far are the sources of materials a consideration for artists, designers and architects? And how does this relate to wider questions of resources—water, energy, oil in the Emirate and beyond?

The symposium included focused presentations by keynote speakers such as Bruce Sterling (download his paper as a pdf here), critical panels with participating artists Sergio Vega or Peter Fend as well as Van Abbemuseum director Charles Esche, or Smart Museum's Curator of Contemporary Art Stephanie Smith as well as breakout seminars with participating artists Tomás Saraceno and Michael Rakowitz.

You can download the symposium programme, exhibition guide and view press-related materials in this archive.

'Sharjah Biennial 8. Still Life: Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change (Part II)'
568 pages, 233 x 165 mm, softcover 350g. Art Matt Card
Paper: 80g. offset wood free and 135 g. Art Matt
Publisher: Sharjah Biennial, www.sharjahbiennial.org
ISBN 978-9948-04-328-6 Part II

Looking back at the past year is a infectious exercise at this point in the calendar. We would like to thank everyone that has visited or taken part in our projects, from the small ones to the 3 year-long collaborations, whether from nearby or far away.

Our 2008 began as intense preparations were well underway for the group exhibition 'Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities' at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (29.02 –18.05.2008) co-curated with Ilaria Bonacossa. 'Greenwashing...' presented the work of 25 artists and artists groups (11 of those produced new work). A 192 page catalogue was published by The Bookmakers Ed., Turin – you can buy a copy here (English/Italian editions).

Following 'Greenwashing...' we presented 'A Stake in the Mud, A Hole in the Reel: Land Art's Expanded Field 1968–2008', a film and video programme curated at the invitation of the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City that later toured to 8 venues between April and October: MARCO, Vigo; Stadtkino (Kunsthalle Basel), Basel, Switzerland; CAAC, Sevilla; Fundació Suñol, Barcelona; Barn Hongersdijk Farmstead, Wilhelminapolder, The Netherlands; Spike Island, Bristol, United Kingdom; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Móstoles. For further information you can read an essay in the Winter 2008-9 (upcoming) issue of Art & Co magazine or download press articles and programmes here.

Before the end of the summer we were part of the jury for the Premi Miquel Casablancas, an award for Spanish artists under 36. From around 200 portfolios and projects submitted Latitudes, together with Aimar Arriola, selected four artists to participate in the exhibition later in the year: ‘La, la, la, la: on winning and losing’ (29.11.2008 – 10.01.2009).

The summer was filled with more research and work to be done, which was carried out thanks to the support and hospitality of the Deutsche Börse Residency Programme, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany.

The 2008-9 season began with the exciting realisation of 'The Crest of a Wave’, a four-part project by Lawrence Weiner at Fundació Suñol, Barcelona (08.10 – 15.11.08) that had a great press, radio, specialised media and TV coverage (see post 12 November); followed by the conclusion of the 3 year-long public commission by Tue Greenfort which was presented in a discrete mode alongside his Frieze Art Fair project (16-19 October). This commission was an initiative of the RSA Arts & Ecology programme, London, which has recently become the Arts & Ecology center. Soon there will be a small publication gathering the history of the commission as well visual documentation of the project.

In November, as part of Artissima 15 Latitudes presented 'X, Y, etc!', a video programme comprised of around 40 works that was inspired by Charles Fort's research methodology, the paranormal and anomalous phenomena, the uncanny and the unexplained.

And now looking a little towards what's to come in 2009 ... since May 2008 (see previous posts here and here) we have been working on 'Portscapes', a series of artists’ projects that will take place throughout 2009 alongside the construction of ‘Maasvlakte 2’, a 1,000 hectare area of reclaimed land that will extend the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest seaport and industrial area. Mirroring a port's function of transit and exchange 'Portscapes' will involve Rotterdam-based artists and those from countries including China, Austria, Mexico, Scotland and the US, with the aim of considering the physical and conceptual implications of the new lands of Maasvlakte 2, as well as the city-port as a distributive network across artistic, marine and mercantile registers. 'Portscapes' will be introduced during Art Rotterdam (5–8 February 2009) by a small ‘prologue’ publication designed by Ben Laloua / Didier Pascal.

Throughout 2008 we have also contributed several catalogue essays, articles, exhibition reviews, artists profiles, etc. a selection of which can be downloaded from our writing archive.

Happy New Year!

Last weekend we visited 2 of Lara Almárcegui's wastelands. One in the Rotterdam harbour (www.braakliggendterrein.nl) and the other one in Genk, Belgium. The Rotterdam wasterland (first 4 pictures) has remained untouched since 2003 and will be kept until 2018. The Genk wasteland's dates are 2004-2014 (following 12 images).



"Lara Almárcegui's work often explores neglected or overlooked sites, carefully cataloguing and highlighting each location's tendency towards entropy. Her projects have ranged from a guide to the wastelands of Amsterdam to the display, in their raw form, of the materials used to construct the galleries in which she shows. Her works are simple actions that belie the vast research process which she undertakes to achieve them." (Frieze Projects, 2006)

Piotr Uklanski 'A Retrospective' (main space) and Tue Greenfort's 'Medusa' (upper and lower galleries) at the Secession, Vienna, 20 September – 18 November 2007.

All images: Latitudes | www.lttds.org

Brian Dillon reviews LAND, ART: A Cultural Ecology Handbook in the summer issue of Frieze, devoted to ecology. There is also a feature article by Latitudes's Max Andrews entitled 'The Whole Truth' featuring the work of Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller, Maria Thereza Alves, among others.

[All images: Latitudes | www.lttds.org]

Courtesy Latitudes | www.lttds.org, photos: Robert Justamante

The book is finally a reality! Coming soon are images of the reception at the London School of Economics and Political Science last Tuesday. The book was officially launched by the UK's Culture Minister David Lammy during the No Way Back? conference that morning. You can purchase the book direct from the distributor's Cornerhouse here, or from amazon here.

LAND, ART: A Cultural Ecology Handbook goes to print this Wednesday. Meanwhile here are some previews from the RSA, the excellent worldchanging.com, the e-flux announcement and Cornerhouse's web, worldwide distributor of the book.

http://www.rsa.org.uk/journal/storydetails.asp?articleID=859

http://www.rsa.org.uk/journal/article.asp?articleID=837

http://worldchanging.com/archives/004385.html

Here is the postcard for the publication we've been editing for a year now! Its launch will on the 12 December in London, over a press breakfast coinciding with the RSA/LSE international enquiry 'No Way Back?' (11-12 Dec). The book is going to print in Italy in two weeks, so soon you will be able to see more on these pages

'LAND, ART: A Cultural Ecology Handbook'
Edited by Max Andrews
Published by the RSA in partnership with Arts Council England
17 x 24 cm, 248 pages, colour throughout
ISBN 0 901469 57 2
Design by SMITH
Distributed by Cornerhouse Publications

Aquí tenéis la postal de la publicación en la que hemos trabajado a lo largo de este último año! Su presentación oficial se hará el 12 de Diciembre en Londres durante un desayuno para la prensa que coincidirá con la conferencia internacional organizada por la Royal Society of Arts (RSA) y la London School of Economics (LSE) titulada 'No Way Back?' (11-12 Dic). El libro se imprimirá en dos semanas en Italia, así que pronto podréis ver más información en estas páginas

[Image on the postcard and on the book cover: Henrik Håkansson, Untitled (Khao Nor Chuchi), 2003, offset print on paper, 70 x 100 cm. Courtesy the artist; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; Galleria Franco Noero, Torino.]