"Untitled (Melting Statue)"
Keywords: mixed media installation, environment, objects, memory, materials, climate, consumption
Climate strike in UK enables the public to realise the serious situation of climate change and the importance of environment protection constantly. However, I noticed that the group strike reflected a little desperation of public when people realise it is out of control.
Because of nothing they can do to prevent the climate change, it is not only caused by human activities but also the routine of the earth. The temperature of earth has shifts as a solid frequency since 8,000,000 years ago. Writing moving slogan on poster and joining the climate strike seems like the most hopeful but helpless way to protect the planet because no one know noting about how to stop climate changing.
Since various start dates for the Anthropocene have been proposed, ranging from the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution to as recent as the 1960s, people start realising human activities indeed influence and change environment of the earth. Part of them have more concerned about these damages bringing by human and how these changes will lead to the predictable ecosystem degradation in not far future.
Suffering from this panic emotion, I start to consider what can I do for the climate change? Inspiring from the Climate strike, I found that people are easily to throw themselves into the formalism actions, focusing more on the symbolistic and semiotic performances while less practically protective actions have been responded. It comes to my three questions: Dose paper can stop the ice melting? Whether is the current language employed by Extinction Rebellion working enough strong in evoking environmentally protective awareness? What alternative language can be developed to more effectively communicate threat and mobilise change?
I try to imagine what the world could be if we only take these formalism actions, like protesting and appealing for in 100 years or further. To delivery a parcel of ‘glacier’ to the future--- the possibility to prevent melting with future methods. However, like the paper- warping ice, the ‘glacier’ in parcel will undoubtedly melt and fade away, and left its = shape and water trace containing today text on the parcel delivering to future.
In this way to explore and emphasis the Anthropocene disorder, not only for human beings but considering more on what our earth can be in future? This negative narrative might become a new language to narrate the predictable possibilities of our next generation, and recording the vanished reality as a temporary memory. Like all the ancient objects, the capacity of reflective in the concept of virtual feature archaeology might be more moving and stimulating for current us. To record this moment, I’d like to make a statue ----‘ melting-glacier parcel for future’. A bag of symbolised glacier is packaging by tape. At the same time, record the melting process of it , and present video as well as the result of packaging glacier to audience.