Waterlicht

Studio Roosegaarde, Dutch

Waterlicht, 2022

This is a photo from a presentation of Waterlicht by Studio Roosegaarde, a Dutch design lab that focuses on installations relating to social and environmental issues.  This image shows light projections of potential sea level rise outside of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The audience can be seen beneath the blue light waves looking up at where the new water level could one day be. This piece shows the extremes of sea level rise and its location outside of the Rijksmuseum shows how sea level rise threatens both the daily life of Dutch people and the cultural institutions present in the Netherlands. Label by Becca Gurysh

Traveling exhibition Waterlicht takes the form of an LED-powered virtual flood, with lights molded to a site’s specific contours and projected amount of sea level rise. The chosen photograph depicts the Netherlands’ historic Loevestein Castle engulfed by glowing ‘waves’ warning how high waters may rise in the area. Nightly visitors are encouraged to both stand above and dive beneath the lit surface by walking around the castle’s outdoor grounds. The viewer’s ability to move throughout the large exhibition space, combined with the installation’s own undulating motions, convey the sheer geographic scope and physical power of rising waters. Label by Lia Deasy

An illusion of water levels rising – this piece uses LEDs and lenses to trick the human eye. It can be difficult to convey a message at such a large scale, especially considering materials, time, and costs, but Studio Roosegaarde effectively utilizes light to create a scene larger than the spectator themselves. Rather than a painting or image on a cell phone, viewers are confronted with the “virtual flood” and find themselves at the brink of imminent real-scale “danger.” And the LEDs adjust depending on wind and rain to show changing water levels. In terms of the use of light, the LEDs cast an ominous shadow over the landscape as if to haunt the space whilst quite literally shining light on the issue of rising sea levels. Label by Grace Cohen

Minimum Monument

Néle Azevedo, Brazilian

Minimum Monument, Rome, 2020

Since 2005, the “Minimum Monument” collection has appeared in various locations across South America and Europe. Azevedo carves ice into hundreds of 20-centimeter-tall human figures and arranges them in public places. The original intention of this artwork was to critique public monuments and recognize people who pass on anonymously and without public recognition. However, in recent years Azevedo’s ice sculptures have acquired a new meaning: climate change impacts on humans and the environment. The melting of these ice figures reflects the melting of glaciers that contribute to sea level rise. It also shows the impermanence of life on earth if we do not unite and take action to prevent further environmental destruction. Label by Bayleigh Albert

The Torch Bearers

Anna Hyatt Huntington, American

The Torch Bearers, 1956-57

A work of art can shift in meaning throughout the years, perhaps due to the viewer’s newfound vantage point and experience. When I was a child in Norfolk, Huntington’s sculpture appeared otherworldly and grand, far beyond my reaching grasp. As a teenager, I viewed the sculpture as a sign to slow down and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the galleries inside. In my adulthood, the sculpture is a warning of what is to come—with every inch of water that approaches the two men. The photograph portrays a living nightmare to residents, foggy and misty air coating our faces, as we observe the tide reaching the crest of the bridge and its creeping ascent towards the two figures. A grand symbol of our youth, powerless to the onslaught of the Hague. However, as we confront our mortality (not unlike the man splayed across the rock), the photograph asks us to not observe with wistful and nostalgic eyes, but to extend a hand to our loved ones and those we do not know. A reminder that sculptures can be submerged, but love is present in us all. Label by Eliza Madison

Rising Tides

Sophy Tuttle, American

Rising Tides, 2020

Tuttle’s mural Rising Tides demonstrates an example of data visualization, using the lines to showcase the level of sea level rise at the corresponding degrees of global temperature increase. The bird pictured, the Salt Marsh Sparrow, nests near the mural’s location in Boston and all seven of their nests were destroyed by an unusually high tide in 2020. The Salt Marsh sparrow is suspected to go extinct within the next 50 years. Tuttle is able to combine two pressing and local environmental issues with her mural, bringing attention to these problems, starting community conversations, and brightening the Sumner Street Bridge underpass. Label by Jordan Hadlock

This is a mural located under the Sumner Street Bridge underpass along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway in Boston, MA, USA. It shows the Saltmarsh sparrow's life in the face of varying degrees of global temperature rise. The artist reminds the public of the potentially negative consequences of the effects of climate change and the importance of studying climate change by transforming abstract climate data into visual images. "The Saltmarsh Sparrow is expected to go extinct in the next 50 years.” said by Sophy Tuttle. Choosing The Saltmarsh Sparrow as the subject of the painting makes one reflect on the impact of environmental challenges on our surrounding environment and animals, which will be a serious damage to the ecological environment. Label by Yijing Li