Interview: Jimmy Turrell and Paul Warrior

Hope as a Radical Act, taking place 17-19th October, is an exciting new pop-up exhibition designed and curated by Paul Warrior and renowned artist Jimmy Turrell. This event aims to reimagine protest culture, offering a fresh perspective on activism, creativity, and collective hope. Rather than focusing on opposition and destruction, this exhibition invites viewers to explore how protest can be an act of proposition, creativity, and positive change.

Held at The CampFire, a small industrial gym space located on the fringes of Byker, this exhibition uniquely blends art, community, and activism andl features contributions from both local and national artists, including photographers, graphic designers, and street artists such as Anthony Burrill, Jimmy Turrell, Saint Sophie, Corbin Shaw, Neasden Control Centre, The Writings on the Wall, Joshua Hughes Games and Cack Handed Kid.

We catch up with Jimmy and Paul to find out more…

Where did the idea from Hope As A Radical Act come from? 
PW: The idea started with an open call for creatives to explore what hope means to them and how to build belief in better worlds. Currently, I own a gym, but I actually studied architecture and continue to work on creative and design-based projects. The brief for the open call really resonated with me and reminded me of conversations I’d had with my good friend Jimmy Turrell. 

We both felt that the world today often magnifies and glamorises discontent—whether it’s cancel culture or fear-driven media, negativity seems to dominate the conversation. So, I proposed that we explore what it means to stand for something rather than against it. Our idea was to reimagine a new kind of protest – one that flips the script from being in a place of opposition to one of proposition, from destructive to creative. That’s how Hope As  A Radical Act was born. 

The exhibition explores ‘how protest can be an act of proposition, creativity,  and positive change.’ Is this in response to any protests you have seen taking place? Do you think protest is becoming increasingly negative and destructive? 
PW: In my work as a fitness coach I am very clear that we need to visualise the outcome we want to see, and not what we don’t want to see. This is because our actions often gravitate to what we are thinking about, so negative thoughts lead to negative actions and outcomes. 

Protest in its very etymology is geared to stand in opposition and express strong objections to something.. And often (as a generalisation) people are typically expressing what they don’t want to see happen. 

However, myself and Jimmy both grew up in the 80’s and remember the Poll Tax Riots so we understand the power of solidarity when people come together and protest for a common cause and how that disruption can be a powerful catalyst for change. 

Through this exhibition, we are switching up our language and intent in the hope of becoming a sharper tool for positive change. We are using this platform to challenge negativity with an alternative message. We remain big advocates of the power of collective hope through acts of unity and solidarity. 

Have you worked together before? What has it been like  collaborating on this exhibition? 
JT: Funnily me and Paul met at one of my exhibitions, I ended up working with him as my personal trainer overcoming an injury. Over the months our conversations centred around art and culture. We ended up chatting about these ideas way before the opportunity arose.  Right people, right timing.

How did you select the artists and works featured in this exhibition? 
JT: Not to overly intellectualise it but It was almost gut instinct. I knew off the top of my head artists whose works and words had provoked me or brought an idea of hope through different lenses. We weren’t looking for overly commercial or safe work but a sense of ‘positive disruption’ we wanted it to reflect the rawness of the ideas.

How has the concept of ‘hope’ influenced your own work as an artist/curator? 
PW: Hope for me is fundamental to being a fitness coach, you have a shared vision with a client for what they can become and a belief about the process of how to get there. You  

are choosing to not settle for how things are right now but instead, push and challenge yourselves to become something more. This is also true for art (in any of its forms), it allows people to reflect, to envision a different world, it provokes, it challenges us.. It’s not passive or naive but a powerful force for transformation, starting with yourself. 

JT: For me, I love to provoke with art, sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it’s calm and sometimes it’s both. More recently I did a project with one of our collaborators, Anthony Burrell, “Let Art Mend Broken Hearts” – in aid of the Syrian and Turkish earthquakes’ Paul  actually helped document this. It just felt that the art I was creating wasn’t just for the walls but as cheesy as it sounds to contribute to change on a personal and social level. 

PW: Funnily enough the exhibition where I met Jimmy, I bought one of his pieces that said ‘Hope is the last thing to die’ Guess it was meant to be. 

The exhibition is held at The CampFire, a small industrial gym space located on the fringes of Byker. Why did you choose that venue and what does the setting add to the exhibition? 
PW: Well… (HAHA) I think it helps that it’s my gym space. But it’s also the place where the dialogue started between me and Jimmy. I refer to The CampFire as a marginal space,  sitting between the up-and-coming Ouseburn areas and the local community of Byker Wall.  

Our hope is to be different from a typical ‘art space’ that only engages the usual arts scene demographic. We hope to bring people into the conversation who might not typically engage with this kind of work or this kind of topic, just like when me and Jimmy met. Two completely different worlds that connected through our time in The CampFire space that I  don’t think either of us expected to spark this kind of conversation or project… At least I  don’t think Jimmy expected it from his personal trainer. 

What has been the most rewarding part of curating this exhibition? 
PW: The conversations and collaborations – the response from the artists we approached was more supportive than we could have hoped. We sent them our brief and what we are  seeing coming back is their personal thoughts on what pieces best celebrate the theme to  them. 

We have been collaborating closely on this project with ‘The Writings on the Wall’ and  ‘Cack-Handed-Kid’ who are bringing so much to the project. We are excited that their work  and vision are part of this exhibition.

What message or feeling do you hope visitors take away from this exhibition? 
PW: We hope that people feel like their voice matters, that they are filled with a sense  of possibility. Hope doesn’t have to be a passive thought. Hope can be something to actively nurture, something creative, constructive and full of potential. 

What role do you think exhibitions like this play in the broader cultural  landscape? 
PW: Our hope is that this is just the beginning—an era where arts and culture are a  superpower for change. We want creatives from all mediums and platforms to come  together to share a glimpse of what a hopeful future could look like. To challenge and  provoke through a positive rhetoric that says we’ll no longer fight dismay with more dismay  but face it head-on with clenched fists, with radical, disruptive and creative acts of hope. 

We envision this leading to more shows, more artists, and more conversations in marginal  spaces—places where people who might not normally engage with this kind of work can  be exposed to it, or even participate in it. 

And even if we are getting wayyyyy ahead of ourselves here, at least come down and  check out the show.