A Belfast project who use innovative artwork to raise vital environmental awareness has been singled out by The National Lottery to star in a special feature video.
Air of the Anthropocene, spearheaded by North Belfast resident and digital artist Robin Price, was hand-picked to film an educational deep-dive video for its work using an LED light painter and a long exposure photograph to reveal levels of pollution.
Robin was chosen to appear on one of two in-depth feature videos that tell the stories of environmentally-savvy, National Lottery-funded charities in light of startling new research.
A whopping seven in ten of those surveyed say they’re not doing enough to save the planet and Robin, who runs the project alongside Birmingham-based Environmental Scientist Prof. Francis Pope, hopes the video can shine a light on art’s revolutionary role.
The 39-year-old, who works at Vault Artist Studios in East Belfast along with 115 other artists, said: “It’s great to highlight how you can help the environment and it’s really good to get a platform to raise awareness through our video.
“I think art and artists can have a role to create spaces and conversations and bring light to things that aren’t always fully teased out.
“That’s what the project is trying to achieve – to get people to stop, look and see something they haven’t done before. The project is a way of trying to raise consciousness around pollution – and that’s a key benefit.
“It was really special to be singled out by the National Lottery and it’s really good to get any kind of recognition.
“The art-science crossover works really well – as an artist, you can translate research that might not otherwise be picked up into something that might spark public interest or conversation. The National Lottery doing that is a great amplification and platform.
“The video is a really nice way of documenting how far we’ve come, what we’ve achieved and looking to what we’re going to do next.”
The National Lottery’s research reveals 73 per cent of us have used more electricity during the pandemic, while a third admit they have had the heating on more than ever before.
But almost half still reckon the world will be a greener place for future generations, with many admitting they will change their habits for the better after lockdown.
The National Lottery has contributed more than £2.2bn towards green projects and initiatives across heritage, art, community and sport since 2010 – and TV naturalist and environmental campaigner Chris Packham is urging the public to be greener in light of its recent research.
Robin’s video, available to watch now via lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/stories/planetary-promise and via National Lottery Good Causes social channels, was one of two educational deep-dive features to raise awareness around the importance of saving the planet, with TV comedian Rosie Ramsey starring in three extra DIY workshops with other National Lottery-funded charities.
Air of the Anthropocene’s video showcases how the project uses a custom-built LED light painter to translate particulate pollution levels into the density of light dots in a long exposure photograph. His project received National Lottery funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Robin, who is originally from Bromsgrove, moved to Northern Ireland in 2006 to study a PhD in Composition and Creative Practice at Queen’s University Belfast after completing an undergraduate degree in Physics at Swansea University.
His research has taken him to both India and Ethiopia and he hailed National Lottery players for catalysing his career.
“I’m hugely grateful to National Lottery players,” he added.
“I’ve received funding a number of times from The National Lottery, and it’s what has enabled my career as an artist.
“It’s so hard to get your first foot in the door, and getting the National Lottery funding makes a huge difference.
“It has allowed me to more sustainably run my career – so I’m enormously grateful to The National Lottery for that.”
The National Lottery is encouraging the public to make a vital contribution to the future of our planet by making a #PlanetaryPromise on social media between Monday 19th April – 23rd April. The #PlanetaryPromise is a chance for you to do your bit for the environment by making a conscious commitment to either start or stop something that could be helping or harming our planet. To find out more, visit lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/stories/planetary-promise
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