This Time of Useful Consciousness, installation view. Photo: John Lake
![](https://dowse.org.nz/__data/assets/image/0011/27011/This-Time-of-Useful-Consciousness-8.jpg)
Kei Uta, Whakatairangitia rere ki uta, rere ki tai (detail), 2015-2017. Courtesy of the artists
![](https://dowse.org.nz/__data/assets/image/0015/27006/This-Time-of-Useful-Consciousness-3.jpg)
This Time of Useful Consciousness, installation view. Photo: John Lake
Richard Frater on 'Political Ecology Now'
"Time of useful consciousness" describes those few moments between being deprived of oxygen and passing out, a period in which the full extent of the danger is known, but it is still possible to act. Used as an analogy for climate change, this time is now.
Join curator Melanie Oliver and artist Richard Frater as they discuss Frater's artistic practice, motivations, and works shown in The Dowse Art Museum's exhibition, This Time of Useful Consciousness: Political Ecology Now.