August 17, 2019

August Shortlist – I agree, we agree, but do they?

Callum Boath, 29

Where words leave off, music begins.

I sit with friends and we speak of the impending doom evoked by climate change. I agree, they agree, we all agree. We look at the news. It appears that many still don’t agree.

It seems that rhetoric has reached a point of inertia and everyone has stopped. At our level of discussions, admittedly a lower level, we are in accord. We sign petitions, we attend the rallies, we recycle… But then it stops.

Where words leave off, music begins.

Perhaps what is missing is a symbol. A symbol that is unvanishing. Unlike the ice caps, unlike the forests and unlike natural resources. Steve Burnett makes instruments from fallen trees or drift wood. They aren’t going anywhere and their voice, under his guidance, is not going unheard.

If a violin maker can express his values in his craftsmanship, values that are not automatically attributed to that craft, can other business, creators or people not do the same? This is less a question for the blue bins or recycling boxes, but instead for big business, the top 100 of which produce 71% of the worlds carbon emissions.

I agree, we agree, but do they?

Steve Burnett - Violin Maker, 2019Film