The Necessity for Subversion in Environmental and Social Change

The aim is to create spaces where the status quo is challenged, where people feel empowered to express themselves, and where art can be a tool for reflection, conversation, and transformation. Through critical design and subversive practices, art can become more than just an aesthetic experience—it can become a vital force for social and cultural change.

In my creative practice, critical design and subversion serve as powerful tools for questioning norms, sparking conversation, and creating spaces for reflection and change. As a designer/facilitator, I approach my projects with the intention to challenge traditional perspectives, push boundaries, and give communities the space to redefine their environment. This approach not only shifts the way people perceive art and public space but also invites them to engage in broader social and cultural discussions.

Critical Design: More Than Aesthetics

Critical design is an approach doesn’t just focus on creating aesthetically pleasing work, but instead aims to provoke thought, challenge assumptions, and question the status quo. In my public space activations, critical design allows me to explore social issues, cultural identity, and environmental concerns through a lens of artistic expression.

It asks, "What if we looked at this space differently? What if we could shift perspectives and change the narrative?"

By incorporating critical design into my work, I make art that goes beyond decoration. I see it as a tool to question and reframe how people view the world around them. Through the use of symbolism, unconventional mediums, and engaging narratives, critical design becomes a way to engage the public in deeper reflection, sparking conversation about pressing issues in their communities.

Subversion: Reclaiming Public Spaces from the Capitalist Agenda

Subversion plays a key role in my practice. At its core, subversion in art involves disrupting dominant narratives and societal norms, offering an alternative way of thinking. In the context of my murals and community art projects, subversion is about reclaiming public spaces and flipping traditional notions of what they should represent.

For instance, in many urban environments, public spaces are often designed with top-down approaches to advertising that lack community involvement. By integrating subversive design strategies, I’m able to challenge these predetermined, homogenous spaces and empower communities to take control of their own environments. This shift not only changes the physical landscape but also nurtures a sense of ownership and agency among community members.

Subversive art can be seen in the way we use public space to highlight often-overlooked narratives, such as those of at-risk youth or underrepresented groups, it’s as simple as challenging the status-quo. Whether it’s through ephemeral art installations, interactive projects, or more permanent mural works, I offer a space where marginalised voices can be heard.

By disrupting the conventional use of public space, these projects create opportunities for dialogue and provide communities the power to shape their surroundings.

“Cancelled Dreams” by Banksy

Change the Discourse

Rather than being confined to sterile academic papers or the walls of galleries, subversive art takes thought-provoking ideas directly into public spaces—whether it’s through street art, temporary installations, or interactive community projects. By breaking out of traditional academic and gallery spaces, this art engages with the public in unexpected, often uninvited ways, challenging conventional boundaries around knowledge and discourse.

Art, in this context, serves as a tool to subvert the gatekeeping mechanisms that often surround academic knowledge. It moves the conversation from elitist, academic spheres to the places where people live, work, and play. This approach fosters greater participation, making complex concepts more understandable and relatable to a diverse audience.

Through this approach, art not only communicates pressing issues like climate change but also invites the public to actively engage with them. It creates a space for people to connect with the ideas in ways that feel personal, immediate, and urgent.

The Power of Subversion for Environmental and Social Change

A pivotal aspect of subversion in my work lies in the collaboration with environmental scientists and institutions like the Australian National University’s Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. Together, we co-authored the published science journal Street Art as a Vehicle for Environmental Science Communication, which explores how public art can bridge the gap between environmental science and the wider community. This collaboration highlights the power of art as a subversive tool for communicating urgent environmental issues outside traditional academic and gallery spaces.

Subversive art, in this context, is not confined to the walls of a museum or academic paper. Instead, it engages directly with the public through unexpected, often uninvited channels—like street art, temporary installations, and interactive community projects. By taking science and environmental concerns into public spaces, art becomes a tool for subverting the traditional gatekeeping of knowledge. It transforms passive observation into active engagement, making complex environmental issues more accessible to diverse audiences.

Through these collaborations, I provide a visual platform for science to reach the communities that are most affected by environmental degradation - meaning a platform that is beyond scientific language and represented in the symbolic. Art becomes the catalyst for subconscious engagement, inviting the public to connect with both the message and the medium in a way that is inclusive, participatory, and far-reaching. This subversive approach redefines where and how environmental discourse can take place, using art to create accessible, meaningful connections between science and society.