How Climate Change Has A ected the Art World

How Climate Change Has Affected the Art World

by Alison Siegel

Climate change is a reality in our daily lives, and it is a force well beyond the control of any single person. The rising global temperature is a condition that affects all our lives, and it is paralyzing, overwhelming, and anxiety-inducing. Art can be a place of comfort, an expression that consoles and illuminates. Artist Pannaphan Yodmanee can guide us through the disruptional experiences of loss and pain to arrive at moments of clarity. The Thai artist’s 2017 mixed media sculptural installation Aftermath is a collection of eleven large fragmented concrete slabs. Each slab has a story: some have grids of

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rebar inlaid, some have red and blue mineral veins, and most have pieces of a decayed mural. The blocks are displayed in a circular clump with oscillating heights— some of the masses are raised on thin metal poles. The cold, industrial, dense concrete is unexpectedly lively; the semi-fractured murals on each block creates a unifying and dynamic motion. The murals of boats and warriors on boats are aged with cracks and blemishes. The images are flat and simple medieval style illustrations. The concrete is emblematic of the intersections of nature, people, and human-built environments. It is made of rocks, sand and minerals fused together by human technology into a functional building material. Yodmanee uses concrete in her installation to delineate a physical space to contemplate the intersection of the natural and man made. She uses naturally found materials in her work to emphasize interconnectedness in everything, and practice sustainable design. The title, Aftermath, alludes to the status of these objects as survivors of an unknown event. They are relics of a moment so tumultuous and powerful, even the concrete split. How did this collection recover from the traumatic event? Aftermath contextualizes resilience as a product of strife. The deterioration of the murals intensifies the presence of the images that remain. The viewer’s eye skips around the surfaces of the concrete levels, seeking out, and physiologically joining, the fragmented paintings to create unity. The colorful paintings represent the vitality of the human spirit, which are challenged and then reinforced by phenomena beyond our control. Even in the face of catastrophe, or when the paintings are disorganized and disoriented, there is hope where we can create relationships and where we can understand growth comes from discomfort. A common theme in Yodmanee’s art is Buddhist philosophy and the articulation of the natural orders and cycles of life and death. Pain and suffering are visible as reminders of the power of faith. Conviction and acceptance allows one to endure difficulty and to keep moving forward, or up. Yodmanee embraces tragedy and anguish, and knows they are inescapable and natural. The challenges presented by climate change must be opportunities to strengthen connections to ourselves and to others. In life, there are obstacles we will encounter. The broken and damaged concrete is a powerful statement. The material is tenacious and strong, yet it is also vulnerable—a lesson that nothing is beyond death or collapse. To move forward, we must collaborate with our difficulties. Turning away or isolating from a problem is counterintuitive and ultimately harmful. There is a rhythmic push and pull to learning from both the good and the bad that surround us. In the midst of the global crises, how we relate to ourselves and to others matter. It is through this dance, with the openness of acceptance, we flourish.

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