Digital collage.
“It was the Dada position that bourgeois art, bourgeois order and bourgeois rationalism had been implicated in the death of millions; that bourgeois culture was no more than a mask of civilization laid over a deeper barbarism.”
Art in Theory; Rationalization and Transformation by Charles Harrison & Paul Wood
This project was inspired by personal experience during the Covid 19 crisis.With family members working in education, local authority and the NHS, we all experienced a complete sense of anarchy over the peak of the crisis in March and April 2020. Schools, hospitals and local authorities had to think on their feet as the situation changed rapidly and it was evident that leadership from government was not only slow in materialising but also naive as to how systems functioned. Local leadership, keyworkers and systems were amazing in their step up to the crisis, but as the situation unfolded, government led systematic practices were expected to help manage the situation long term. They either failed to appear, or if they did, they were so massively ineffective that local level management could have been far more effective, if provided with funding and authority. Consequently, aspects of Covid management are now being assisted by local leaders and public health experts; something that could have been facilitated originally. Huge amounts of money have been curtailed towards companies in the meantime, with little or no experience of this type of crisis, instead of using this local expertise, and the response from the private sector has been chaotic and ineffective; the companies responsible have also been completely unaccountable. This sense of disappointment in our liberal, democratic system led me to feel a connection with the Dada movement. Logic and reason does not play a role in our systems of power under a mainly capitalist, market driven society; it is luck and the irrational. The arts were also degraded and defunded during WW1 in Europe, just as our arts have been hugely hit by COVID restrictions today. Capitalism, once again, had failed to provide the security and stability western political systems have promised. The work produced satirizes this experience as well as exploring notions of luck, mysticism and gaming.
'Eat out to Help out' digital meme
'Loo roll back at Tesco' digital meme
'Is it really round?' digital meme
Trump mouth, clay tile.
Oil based intaglio prints using copper etched plates.
Screen prints onto readymade playing cards
Game board design: Luck versus Logic
'Privilege and 'Poverty' cards for the game
Hand drawn pen and ink logos
The completed 2020 game.
Boris in red, screenprint
A reverse design in royal blue
Luck Vs Logic installation
"Katherine Howes
Luck Vs Logic, 2021
Foamboard, glue, screenprints
Inspired by research into our rich history of gaming and cards, Katherine Howes’s sculpture raises questions about our political system and playing ‘the game of politics’. The card tower mysteriously survives toppling. Is the glue that keeps it together the good of the people; volunteering, working tirelessly, showing grit and determination in the face of adversity? Or is the tower of Boris Johnsons held up by money and support of lobbyists, big business and the media. How and when will the tower collapse?"
Luck Vs Logic, 2021
Foamboard, glue, screenprints
Inspired by research into our rich history of gaming and cards, Katherine Howes’s sculpture raises questions about our political system and playing ‘the game of politics’. The card tower mysteriously survives toppling. Is the glue that keeps it together the good of the people; volunteering, working tirelessly, showing grit and determination in the face of adversity? Or is the tower of Boris Johnsons held up by money and support of lobbyists, big business and the media. How and when will the tower collapse?"