Ryan Gander (b.1976)
Humans have been a long-term driver of rises in global temperatures, through the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Artists respond to the theme of climate change in various ways.
Some, like Max Hague, whose expressive abstract paintings suggest the chaos and danger of extreme weather conditions, express an emotional response to the threat of climate change. Others provide a visual representation of scientific data as a stark warning to us.
Artists also imagine what future landscapes might look like. In a series of collages, Ade Adesina explores ecological change such as deforestation and threats to endangered species, as well as the politics of energy consumption. Ryan Gander's sculpture, We Are Only Human (2022), is based on the shape of a dolos – a structure placed on shorelines to combat erosion. By locating his sculpture high up on a cliff he imagines that this is where the shoreline may be in the future with rising water levels.
Some artists use their art to offer solutions. Artists Dalziel and Scullion have used a special type of cement for their sculpture Catalyst (2008) which is shaped like a covered car. (Cars are one of the main causes of global warming – emitting carbon dioxide and other global warming gases.) The cement contains a catalytic material that reacts with light to trigger molecules of air-borne pollutants to break apart. The harmful pollutants are converted to harmless nitrates which drain into the soil and are absorbed by plants.
