Alertism - Paul March

Welcome to the Alertism exhibition, featuring artistic and literary works that were inspired by the Emergency Alert test message that was sent to people with a mobile device on Sunday 23rd April at 3pm.

A new name to us here at CollectConnect, but we're really pleased to welcome him to the Alertism exhibition. Paul March is our artist, a mystery, just like the people who send government alerts. Do we ever know the people who are behind an alert, could it be an unauthorised sender? We will forever remember the rogue civil service tweet in 2020, when an unknown employee posted “Arrogant And Offensive. Can you imagine having to work with these truth twisters?” just after Boris Johnson's press conference. Paul's First Responder is Anglo-Brazilian artist Ed Arantus. Rio de Janeiro uses a Siren Alert System that includes a Master Control Station that has the ability to control 180 High-Powered Speaker Stations across the city. Read Ed's response below.

Paul March

First Responder: Ed Arantus

I had one chance to wake them from this world
Running blind, just to stay still
It is a kindness to stop them all

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Paul March retired from lecturing in 2017 where he worked on, HE and FE, he is still involved in education supporting students. He has decided not to return to lecturing as he finds the education system today has lost it way from its true purpose, so he spends most of his time involved in his own art projects.
On leaving school he studied engineering; he later joined the army as a mechanical engineer rising to the rank of corporal in charge of a workshop. His interest in teaching started during this time, having to train other soldiers in engineering. He became an instructor in the army and later in civilian life in sailing, canoeing, climbing, and other outdoor pursuits.
He went back to college in later life to study Art and Design, gaining a BA (hons) and later a MA. His latest endeavour is a PhD on the link between science and art focusing on artist and scientist thought processes.
For the past 24 years he has been involved in most areas of art and design. He has had several exhibitions around the country and a virtual exhibition in Italy.
He is a big advocate of cross discipline teaching, which shows in his work where he combines art, science and engineering, including past professions and hobbies. He has been part of the push towards changing the area of STEM to become STEAM adding art to science, technology, engineering and maths.

“Equations are to science,
what abstraction is to art”.
Paul March 2023

Ed Arantus is a conceptual artist and writer. He published his first work in the Censored Zine in 2010 and has exhibited his work ever since at venues like the Contemporary Arts Research Unit in Oxford and the Museum of Futures in Surbiton. https://edarantus.blogspot.com