As part of No Bounds Festival we will exhibit Countering Rhetoric, two new projects by Dr Austin Houldsworth.  

Countering Rhetoric

Artist: Dr. Austin Houldsworth

Open: Friday 11/10 – Sunday 13/10
Opening Night: Friday 11/10 18.00-20.30

Opening Times: FRI: 10.00-20.00, SAT: 10.00-16.30, SUN: 10.00-16.00

Artist talks: Sunday at 12.30

In 1860, a Lord stated ‘You must arrive at equality either by levelling down or by levelling up’. 164 years later ‘levelling’ (of any type) is still very much a work in progress. Similarly, the Trickle-Down rhetoric that influenced Margaret Thatcher’s government did little to help the longstanding levelling agenda. The exhibit ‘Countering Rhetoric’ attempts to address this disparity between promises and prosperity.  It includes two new projects from Dr Austin Houldsworth that critically investigate the political rhetoric of ‘Trickle-down economics’ and ‘Levelling up’ through the proposition of two interactive alternative wealth redistribution devices that turn rhetoric into reality. 

Part of a series of commissions entitled Entanglement, Commons and Cultural Mycelium  from curator and producer Amy Carter Gordon. Associate producer: Lauren McConnell. 

Dr. Austin Houldsworth: Biography

Dr. Austin Houldsworth (PhD, MA RCA Design Interactions) is an interdisciplinary design researcher with a focus on critical and speculative design. Currently working as a Lecturer in MA Design at Sheffield Hallam University, his research strives to leverage change through the application of design within unfamiliar disciplines. Examples of his work include redesigning monetary systems (‘For money's sake’ 2018), building prototype human fossilisation machines, creating the ‘Intergalactic Space Agency’ at the Eden Project and founding the ‘Future of Money’ design awards.