How one Irish artist asked the biggest question of them all

Artist Matthew Nevin writes for Culture about a fascinating new globe-spanning art project.

As an artist, curator and co director of MART I have always had an interest in international relations, politics and global issues. Back in 2010, this led me to devise The Core Project, an ongoing, multifaceted, visual art project. I have sought out one person from each sovereign state in the world and asked them to film themselves answering a question that they have not previously seen: What is going to happen next?

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By withholding the question until they record, I removed the participant’s ability to prepare, producing a series of natural and behavioural nuances within an international cultural context.

After seven years, I am delighted to see the project come to a physical form in a large installation, to be opened in Dublin's Rua Red Gallery this month. At a time where many states feel isolated, forgotten and troubled, it’s important to bring unity to our eclectic collection of cultures. With 144 videos projection mapped onto a massive construction of small white cubes, the structure will provide an impressive experience for the audience to engage with the international participants and hear their opinions, thoughts and feelings on What is going to happen next, both personally, locally and internationally.

The Core Project is as much about the participant’s verbal response as it is their attitude towards the unknown. A primary aim of the project is to engage citizens of the world in a global cultural experiment that serves to highlight the diversity and complexity of people, opening a door to individuals from all corners of the earth. Through this inclusive project, I wish to break down barriers on how Art can be perceived, created and viewed, with an aim to engage, unite, and create a spark in people’s lives.

The project focuses on the accumulation of an ephemeral ‘art public’ by analysing each participant: their process of understanding the question; their choices in visually setting the scene; and their manner and practice in participating in the project.

Acting as both a global online artistic endeavour and an archive of a group of individual real-world responses, the artwork focuses on intervention in, engagement with, and critique of the dominant political and economic order of society. Respondents become the subjects, and even sub-artists in the project, moving away from singular spectatorship.

Through this form of activation and collaboration, The Core Project has become a collective creation process. As technology has enabled the sharing of opinions/thoughts of artists and participants from all over the world, permitting the co-creation of art that exists both virtually, on the project website, and in tangible form – an installation.

By engaging citizens of the world in a global experiment, I am attempting to highlight how diverse and complex every nation on this planet is. The website allows The Core Project to have an open door to viewers from all corners of the earth, and actively give a glimpse into every sovereign state. Furthermore it provides an inclusive opportunity for both artists and spectators to understand the accessibility of a digital public space. Acting as a creative political force, influencing and creating new social responsibilities, contextualized by using connectivity to assert its cause.

The Core Project opens at Rua Red Gallery, Dublin until September 30th - details here .

How one Irish artist asked the biggest question of them all

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