Blued Tree with Cows, 2016

Aviva Rahmani, American, born 1945

Blued Tree with Cows, 2016, 2016

Art-activist Aviva Rahmani created The Blued Trees Symphony, a project of one-third-mile long musical measures along the forested paths where natural gas pipelines and pipeline expansion projects had been proposed. Individual trees along the proposed route of construction were mapped and painted with blue buttermilk paint. Using the geographic configuration of each tree, Rahami transferred each painted tree into a musical note, or "tree note", creating a full symphony. The symphony was then copyrighted as a means to halt pipeline construction. Rahmani's project demonstrates how art can both legally preserve and celebrate nature. Label by Isabel Williams

The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm

Allison Janae Hamilton, American, born 1984

The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm, 2018

Influenced by her ties to Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee, Hamilton’s work frequently examines environmental justice issues, particularly in the rural American south. The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm takes its title from and was inspired by ‘Florida Storm,’ a 1928 hymn by Judge Jackson about the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. Along with the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, both storms devastated the state of Florida and were particularly disastrous to communities of black migrant workers. The piece, which continually interacts with its environment, contemplates how social inequities become evident in climate-related disasters, and further, how these communities are doubly affected. Label by Laura Reitze

Unbearable

Jens Galschiøt, Danish, born 1954

Unbearable, 2015

Unbearable presents a 20-meter-long graph depicting the increase of carbon emissions from fossil fuel use from the year 0 to 2015. At the end of the graph lies a polar bear with the rising arrow pierced through most of its stomach. As carbon emissions intensify global warming, increasing emissions will lead to melting polar ice caps, eventually destroying the polar bear’s natural habitat, potentially killing off the whole species. As carbon emissions increase, the arrow will only grow taller, piercing the polar bear entirely and signifying their unfortunate end. Label by Sebastian Rios-Melean

The Earth is not for Sale

Ricardo Levins Morales, American, born 1967

The Earth is not for Sale, 2015

Ricardo Levins Morales is an artist and an organizer based in Minneapolis. He uses his art as a form of protest and collective healing from injuries and ongoing reality of oppression. He was born into the anti-colonial movement in his native Puerto Rico. Ricardo's work is widely used by grassroots movements, organizations and communities. Statement from the artist’s website:

"The fossil fuel industry possesses an insatiable appetite. First Nations and native activists stand on the front line of defense against their assault on Mother Earth. This poster depicts an oil executive reaching out his hand in a demand. The native elders say no – you cannot take what belongs to everyone.”

Label by Isabel Schreur