Belfast: Ursula
Burke in ROUTES
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Ursula
Burke: In the Picture, 2002, photograph;
courtesy the artist
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Striking high-contrast
and rich-colour photographic print and light-box portraits
illuminated the Old Museum Arts Centre in Belfast this May.
Personalities emerged from the two-dimensional surfaces against
halos of light which seemed to be emanating from each figure.
A circular atmosphere, a radiance, through a play with light
serves to emphasise and celebrate the individual beyond a
formal composition.
In the Picture
1 and Where To? were two photographic exhibitions
in Belfast of Northern Ireland bus workers and shop stewards
by the artist/photographer Ursula Burke. These exhibitions
are also unique elements within the ROUTES project
festival which ran in May of this year and comprised over
fifteen events and/or projects.1
As I walked around these two exhibitions, I found myself compelled
immediately to not only read the surfaces, but to further
investigate the context and background to this project, to
find out what or who the celebration was all about and possibly
why?
To my surprise, I
discovered that the origins of the ROUTES project could
be traced back as far as Ian Hunter's residency in St. Columb'
Park House Centre in Derry's Waterside in 1997.2
Initially the objective was to expand upon and bolster the
centre's peace and reconciliation work. What emerged was an
investigation into employees and how they could instigate
and maintain ground-root strategies in the workplace to negotiate
positively against sectarianism throughout the troubles.3
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Ursula
Burke: Where to 1, 2002, photograph; courtesy
the artist
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So why were bus workers,
their experiences and stories identified as the most exemplary
model for the ROUTES project to document and celebrate?
As the 'eyes' and 'ears' of Northern Ireland, bus workers
and shop stewards navigated the boundaries that divided Northern
Ireland over the last thirty years of the troubles, by crossing
sectarian lines through their bus routes.4
It was the Amalgamated T&G Union in the early years of
the troubles who negotiated this policy, so all drivers regardless
of religious or political affiliation served the entire community
of Northern Ireland. The ROUTES project would 'tell
a story that has never been told' and be a positive tribute
to all those men and women.5
A formal committee
headed by Ruth Graham and consisting of representatives of
Belfast Exposed, Flax Art Studios, Banter Productions, Ulsterbus
shop stewards, Citybus and LITTORAL was set up in 2000 to
oversee the administration of the project. Financial and advisory
assistance came also from a number of prominent bodies in
Northern Ireland, among which were the Arts Lottery, the Arts
Council of Northern Ireland, the Community Relations Council,
and Belfast City Council.6
The ROUTES
project became more than a platform for congratulations; it
is more than "issues of social engagement and transport policy,"
it is a "model for public art."7
ROUTES is about artists intervening into the public-transport
systems. It is about generating new audiences and giving 'access'
to, and participation in the arts to the broader community
in Northern Ireland. It is about the space between artist,
audience, bus worker, and artwork, an 'unfixed' place of dialogue,
experience and exchange.8
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Ursula
Burke: Where to 2, 2002, photograph; courtesy
the artist
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Where To? is
a series of colour portrait photographs of bus workers taken
predominantly from the Falls Road Depot. In the Picture
1 are volunteered portraits of retired and serving bus
workers, identified by shop stewards as exemplary for their
contribution to their profession. These prints are by a photographer
who is herself exemplary in the application of her craft,
who can clearly translate a sensitive and empathic view of
her subject matter. This engagement truly examines and celebrates
human dignity consistently in all the portraits. These exhibitions
by Ursula Burke, and the ROUTES project as a whole,
highlight and celebrate a sector of the community who exemplify
positive anti-sectarian initiatives. This is done concurrently
with the bringing to light of a successful model for artistic
intervention into the professional sectors, which I am sure
will be positively cited for some time to come.
Cherie Driver is
a researcher, artist, and co-director of Catalyst Arts in
Belfast.
Ursula Burke, In
the Picture 1, Old Museum Arts Centre, April/May 2002
Ursula Burke, Where
To?, Belfast Exposed Photographic Gallery, May 2002
1It
is not possible to credit all the individuals and organisations
involved here. A full project timetable of events and project
descriptions can be found on www.routesproject.org.
2See
Hunter, Ian. and Larner, Celia. - littoral arts 'Introduction
to the routes project', www.routesproject.org,
nonpaginated, 07/2002.
3ibid.
4ibid.
5ibid.
6ibid.
7ibid.
8ibid.
Article reproduced from CIRCA
101, Autumn 2002, pp.82-83 .
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