Have you noticed how distopic climate change-inspired art can be a little demotivating? Well, some artists and architects are focusing on a more optimistic portrayal of our planet's future. Here are two examples:
In 2009, the exhibition Earth at the Royal Academy in London broke ground by examining the climate through abstract art. “I didn’t want penguins or icebergs,” curator Kathleen Soriano explained to the Guardian newspaper at the time: “We wanted people to have an aesthetic response" (see picture above for a contemplative egocentric view of a world underwater, a simple invite for contemplation of the not so faraway future post sea-rise).
Then there is the Eden Project. First opened in 2001, the Cornwall attraction, which features huge enclosures with more than 1,000 plant species, has since blossomed, attracting more than 1 million visitors a year. I've had the pleasure to visit this year this building, which is my favourite of Sir Nicholas Grimshaw's office (in which I had the pleasure to work at back in 2008!) and the Buckkinster Fuller's-inspired shapes are truly beautiful.
These artistic and architectural efforts not only attract attention of the public to the beauty of nature, but also invite us to envision and actively shape a more sustainable and hopeful future.
In this context, climate change art (and sustainable architecture) serve as a beacon of hope, encouraging engagement with pressing environmental issues and inspiring meaningful actions to fight conformism in times of climate change skepticism.
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