Inside Outside

Abstract

Cornford & Cross were invited to contribute a paper for a special edition of “Third Text” focused on collaboration. The article explored the limits of collaboration and the tolerance and intolerances of institutions in the wake of the museum’s incorporation of post-conceptual practice. Writing about their art practice and nature of collaboration in relation to the institution, Cornford & Cross questioned the privileging of the art object, and the role of artists primarily as being either to produce such objects for consumption, or to facilitate community involvement in urban regeneration. Cornford & Cross do produce objects, installations and images, and they do engage in a range of interactions with various organizations and groups. However, the distinguishing aspect of their practice is ‘action research’, a process of creative and critical collaboration, which may transform social relations.