Shane Cullen The Agreement
2002-2003
The Agreement is a new sculptural work commissioned by Beaconsfield of the Dublin based artist Shane Cullen. The work is conceived to commemorate the signing of the Anglo-Irish Peace Agreement reached in the multi-party negotiations of 1998.
The work will present the full text of the document known as the 'Good Friday' or 'Belfast' Agreement, in a clear and comprehensible manner on 55 panels. The text begins "We the participants in the multi-party negotiations, believe that the agreement we have negotiated offers a truly historic opportunity for a new beginning..." The 11,500 words will be mechanically carved into high-density polyurethane using an advanced digital process.
The artist has conceived The Agreement as a democratic gesture to recover ownership of a landmark public document. The complexity and legal nature of the 'Good Friday' or 'Belfast' Agreement makes it awkward for public consumption. At the time of the negotiations, a leaflet containing the complete text of the peace agreement was distributed to every Irish household for the public's consideration. The same document has had minimal exposure in England.
Public exhibition of The Agreement will make this significant information accessible in a new way, whilst claiming the validity of the work as an art object. The text is fixed and its meaning will change with the context in which it is presented, shifting according to the cultural and political climate in which it is viewed.
The Agreement is commissioned by Beaconsfield Contemporary Art, London and sets a collaborative precedent with financial support from the Arts Councils of England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The work will be exhibited during 2002/03 in key cities represented by all three governments. A publication will relate the varying local perspectives to a wider international debate and reflect opinion to be found in all participating cities. Commissioned essays will explore avenues such as the historical relationship between politics and art and the potential to engage the public in social reflection through cultural means. A series of debates curated as part of each exhibition will contribute to the body of public opinion expressed during these critical years of the peace process.