All We Ever Wanted Was Everything and Everywhere

Julian Charrière, Swiss, born 1987

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything and Everywhere, 2019

Charrière’s installation addresses the sacrifice zone created by the US nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. Charrière visited the site and produced a series of photos and videos on land and in the water showing the abandoned atoll. The central image in this picture shows the propeller of the sunken HIJMS Nagato, which was a target in nuclear tests at the site. A large diving bell and bags of ocean-water from the contaminated site both hang from the ceiling, while coconuts encased in lead (both protecting them from nuclear explosions and making them reminiscent of cannonballs) are scattered on the floor. Charrière’s work shows human efforts to dominate and control the environment in his carefully trapped subjects, along with the continued toll from radiation at the site. In doing so, he encapsulates the topics of slow violence and sacrifice zones that result from modern warfare and environmental injustices. Label by Tori Erisman

Cities Underwater

Norwood Viviano, American, born 1972

Cities Underwater, 2018

In Cities Underwater, Norwood Viviano visualizes the loss of land mass due to sea level rise predicted to occur over the next 500 years in sixteen U.S. cities: Boston, Galveston, Miami Beach, Miami, Mobile, New Orleans, Newark, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, St. Petersburg and Tacoma. Using existing LiDAR data and scientific projections, Viviano crafts an interior sculpture where contours in the glass represent the likely reduction of land in a certain year. These projectile forms are inserted into glass cylinders proportional to the current land area of the featured city. Made in colors ranging from marine blue to seafoam green, we can imagine the vessels filled with water surrounding what remains of the cityscape in 2500 CE. Viviano’s work encourages viewers to think of these coastal cities as organic, fluctuating landscapes that also impact the population and economic vitality of 127,000,000 Americans that call these coastal areas home. Label by Kelly Conway

La Mer Morte (The Dead Sea)

Kader Attia, French, born 1970

La Mer Morte (The Dead Sea), 2015

This work by Kader Attia depicts the dangers and fate that many migrants face. The name La Mer Morte means the dead sea in English, referring to the risks that migrants face while trying to cross oceans. The various blue colored clothing is to symbolize the ocean that many migrants try to cross. In this piece Attia has used jeans and t-shirts worn by refugees, migrants, and city-dwellers. The clothing coming from migrants is to pay homage to those that have lost their lives trying to migrate to Europe. Attia hopes to remind people how dangerous it can be for those who are trying to create a better life. This installation is located in the The Warmth of Other Suns exhibit in New York that highlights experiences and perceptions of migration and the worldwide refugee crisis. Label by Olivia Falb

This installation addresses the topic of global migration, serving as a memorial to those who have been displaced from their homes due to either climate change or other circumstances. Shoes, jeans, and other articles of clothing are strewn across the floor in ranging hues of blue that mimic the varying tones of the sea. The spacing between the articles of clothing appears to mimic that of a wave, initially spaced dispersedly then becoming tightly packed. This spacing appears to mimic the patterns of migration from rural to urban areas. The sheer number of clothes draws attention to the number of individuals who have been displaced and forced to travel across the ocean. Ultimately, this installation conveys a sense of great loss and emptiness, as the empty clothing alludes to the loss of life on this journey across borders. Label by Grace Moser

Infinity Pod

Darren Sarkin, American

Infinity Pod, 2018

Even though climate disaster does lend itself to photography as a means of aesthetic documentation, I remember Darren Sarkin’s installations made up of damaged, charred wood from wildfires that hit California years ago. Sarkin carves the wood to his liking, adds lights and other shards of recycled glass to create pieces that are able to glow again, this time without threatening people or property. Here, a woman sits inside his Infinity Pod, a small structure made up of the repurposed wood, mirrors, and LED lights that set a different kind of fire to the scorched raw material. In some regards, using burnt wood for artistic purposes can be understood as doing little to address climate struggles that ultimately brought the piece to life, but I think there is something to be said about breathing a new kind of life back into them, immersing viewers in an interactive experience that condenses grief of what is lost and hope for what may come. Label by Kristin Rheins