An exploration of oil as the devil’s excrement

The title of David Jacques’ exhibition was inspired by an Opec minister, writes Ellie O’Byrne

IN THE 1970s, the University of Caracas formed a choral ensemble to tour the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member states, performing a selection of folk music from each country.

A double vinyl album of the Opec choir’s music still exists. The countries listed on the sleeve are a chilling reminder of the trials and violent tribulations that oil is a harbinger of: Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Venezuela... countries whose mineral wealth has brought political instability, social inequity and all-out war. The voices of the very indigenous peoples the recording hoped to celebrate have been dimmed, by the unslakeable global thirst for petrochemicals, in the decades since the album was pressed.