work
If Only It Were Just A Crisis
| category | Painting |
| subject | Political / Social, Landscape, Nature |
| tags | textbased art, stencil, pattern, freestyle landscape, climate, bruno latour, earth, crisis, gaia |
| base | 330 cm |
| height | 160 cm |
| depth | 0 cm |
| year | 2020 |
"It doesn't stop; every morning it begins all over again." (Bruno Latour: Facing Gaia)
These are the first words in Bruno Latour's book "Facing Gaia". There is no end to the reports of crises in the morning news, it was like this even before Covid-19, now it has become even worse - climate crisis, pandemic and political crises, without interruption. Can we still speak of crisis when the condition is a persistent one? Are we not lying to ourselves when we call it a crisis just to reassure ourselves that it will soon be over? To speak of a crisis raises false hopes, is window dressing and encourages passivity.
"If only it were just a crisis! If only it had been just a crisis!" (Bruno Latour: Facing Gaia)
It is not possible to just wait and hope for the best. Soon we will realise that this has become the normal state of affairs and wish it had only been a crisis.
The painting "If Only It Were Just A Crisis" is done with gouache, spray paint and acrylics on unstreched canvas. Distorted, fragmentary but nonetheless beautiful landscapes are combined with found quotes and scraps of words that shook me and should do the same to the viewer. It is part of the series "How to Speak about the Earth", which was started in fall 2020. At its heart is the engagement with the the so called "climate crisis" and Bruno Latour's analysis of the current situation in his book "Facing Gaia".
These are the first words in Bruno Latour's book "Facing Gaia". There is no end to the reports of crises in the morning news, it was like this even before Covid-19, now it has become even worse - climate crisis, pandemic and political crises, without interruption. Can we still speak of crisis when the condition is a persistent one? Are we not lying to ourselves when we call it a crisis just to reassure ourselves that it will soon be over? To speak of a crisis raises false hopes, is window dressing and encourages passivity.
"If only it were just a crisis! If only it had been just a crisis!" (Bruno Latour: Facing Gaia)
It is not possible to just wait and hope for the best. Soon we will realise that this has become the normal state of affairs and wish it had only been a crisis.
The painting "If Only It Were Just A Crisis" is done with gouache, spray paint and acrylics on unstreched canvas. Distorted, fragmentary but nonetheless beautiful landscapes are combined with found quotes and scraps of words that shook me and should do the same to the viewer. It is part of the series "How to Speak about the Earth", which was started in fall 2020. At its heart is the engagement with the the so called "climate crisis" and Bruno Latour's analysis of the current situation in his book "Facing Gaia".
