The bodies of goats

Angelos Tzortzinos, Greek

The bodies of goats at the edge of a road on Rhodes on Tuesday, 2023

Amidst devastating fires on the island of Rhodes in Greece, Angelos Tzortzinis aptly captures the systems of ecological violence which threatens our companion species. Just as roadkill are delegated to the outskirts of roadways as we avert our eyes and drive past, the goats are sprawled on the edge of the road, unable to outrun the fire at their backs. While we could avert our eyes and ignore the agonizing nature of the piece, Tzortzinis forces the viewer to truly see each goat in death. Two goats are draped upon each other, appearing to seek comfort from each other. The farthest goat is alone and is curled towards the wall, its face bent away in its own pain. The viewer is forced to consider the stark suffering of nonhuman species in environmental devastation, with the photograph asking us to not avert our eyes. Not this time. Label by Eliza Madison

Residents bracing

Nicolas Economou, Greek

Residents bracing for an approaching wildfire on Rhodes on Monday

Pictured above are residents evacuating from Rhodes, Greece, due to fierce wildfires
across Europe and the rest of the world. It shows the active toll of climate change on humans as
they are forced from their homes, while others are shown driving to the fires, bracing to fight it.
The brightly colored buildings and vibrant ecology of the area are physically dulled due to the
smog caused by the fires. The hazy smoke that fills the image demonstrates the power of slow
violence that climate change creates, with even those not directly in the line of the fire at risk for
health issues. Clarissa Cantacuzene

Purple

John Akomfrah, British, born 1957

Purple, 2017

Purple comes from an exhibition titled “Our World is Burning” or “Notre Monde Brule” in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris France. The exhibit was shut down for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic which perfectly adds to the message of Akomrah, in which the world is at a breaking point or a point of no return. The dramatized message is displayed from the overwhelming movie theatre view. Purple is the last room of the exhibition. The six screens act to represent the Anthropocene, displaying the various crisis in our world from displaying cruel Animal testing to a melting Mount Everest. The remarkable feature of this work is what should be said for the fact that humans will view these on six large screens from a dark museum in one of the largest cities in the world. As many criticisms mention the issue of placing too much value on to the aesthetics of ecological crisis, Akomfrah tries to combat this by creating an uncomfortable chaos. Playing loud noises of animals and natural disaster viewers are urged to feel unnerved and ready for action. Label by Annabel Bentley

Alicia’s Flatware

Tawnya Lively, American

Alicia’s Flatware, 2017

After her home was destroyed by the October 2017 fires, artist Tawnya Lively launched the “Firestorm Mosaic Project”. Taking broken tiles, kitchenware, and other objects recovered from house fires and refashioning them into mosaics Lively hopes to create new heirlooms out of the ashes of the old. While this began as a personal work of art, Lively has expanded the project, creating images for others, coordinating mosaic artists to complete their own projects, and even “hosting workshops for those who would like to make their own projects”. These pieces tell of the momentous personal and human cost of wildfires, but still create a beautiful work of art that can allow the owners to both remember and move forward from the fires. Label by Caitlin Blomo

Alicia’s Flatware by Tawnya Lively consists of a single dining set that is framed by broken pieces of china of the same style as the half broken cup and burnt plate in the center. The fork and spoon are made of now damaged silver; all of the pieces were salvaged from ashes in California after a wildfire. The pieces together make a full dining set for one person to have a meal, but they are now tattered and unusable. This creates a microcosm of the number of homes and lives that were lost to these wildfires by displaying one set of lonely dishes as if to display a lost meal. Label by Jordan Stofko