The idea for this painting is: Consume less - consume better.
We have bees and roses and both are proving difficult to maintain in a healthy condition. They are constantly threatened by viruses, bugs, mold and heat.
In the painting, Tenalach, I wanted to emphasize the fragile relationship we have with the land, sky, and water. The deep connection that allows us to hear the earth sing and to be one with nature.
To what shall I compare this life of ours?
Even before I can say,
It is like a lightening flash or a dewdrop.
It is no more.
- Sengai
The mat floats on the rising water.
It is covered with purely decorative growth that will not sustain bees.
Main story - understory - in a monoculture worms and bugs no longer exist.
Bees, fleas, worms, germs,
humans are but one part of the ecosystem.
We have become the impatient species. Too busy to let nature replenish itself and too puffed up with our own sense of importance to acknowledge our utter dependence on its generosity.
- David Suzuki
I MISS EARTH WORMS. DO YOU?
Travelling around the world and Australia, we have seen various monocultures. Large expanses of a single crop. And while these are hugely efficient for crop production and harvesting, they have devastating environmental impacts.
I MISS EARTH WORMS. DO YOU?
In this painting the child/birds are eating processed food stored in small plastic containers. The mat is plastic. There is no diversity in the crop in the background. A monoculture. A system recognized to destroy biodiversity of creatures in the soil, including worms.
If you really think the environment it less important than the economy,
try holding your breath while you count your money. - Guy McPherson
The mat is decorative but uncomfortably sharp, a constant reminder that the children in the future will need to deal with the prickly subject of how to deal with the pollution we have created.
This painting is asking you to think about the prickly subjects, firstly: how selfish can we be?
If we leave the skies polluted and ignore all the other environmental problems - because they are too difficult to fix - what quality of life are we bequeathing our children?
By polluting the oceans, not mitigating C02 emissions and destroying biodiversity, we are killing the planet. Let us face it, there is no planet B. - Emmanuel Macron
In this painting I chose a parrot and a Cassowary because a third of the parrot population is threatened while Cassowaries are rare.
The choice of using the crocus flower is because of its value. Currently in Australia Saffron is $50 - $60.00 per gram.
$50,000.00 per kilogram.
A 1.8mt Cassowary weighs approx. 60kg. If it was made of saffron it would be 'worth' three million dollars.
When will we acknowledge that without a sound ecology, there is no economy.
I have painted a golden glowing plastic rug sprouting a small pretty crop of valuable saffron, while the bird/children sit on it and pray for fungi, carrion and seeds.
Predatory climate deniers, are a threat to our children - Richard Flanagan
Well go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective.
Too often the adverse changes in the world are ignored or denied. In this age ofrapidly melting glaciers,terrifying megafiresand ever more puissanthurricanes, ofacidifyingandrisingoceans, it is hard to believe that any further prod to climate action is needed.
But the reality is that we continue to live in a business-as-usual world. Our media is filled with enthusiastic announcements about new fossil fuel projects, or the unveiling of the latest fossil-fueled supercar, as if there’s no relationship between such things and climate change.
In Australia, the disconnect among our political leaders on the deadly nature of fossil fuels is particularly breathtaking.
Each year the situation becomes more critical. Global emissions of greenhouse gases rise while the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere jumps.
No climate report or warning, no political agreement nor technological innovation has altered the ever-upward trajectory of the pollution. This simple fact forces me to look back on the past 20 years of climate activism as a colossal failure.
In this painting the two bird/children can't connect.
They sit on a plastic mat, holding plastic tubing and they glare, with mouths firmly shut.
The crop is a monoculture.
Hills' are barren.
A storm is brewing.
One lone bird remains in the sky, wary and unsure.
We will go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself
because it wasn't cost effective.
When a wise person gambles, he/she will decide on three things before starting:
1/ the rules,
2/ the stakes
3/ and the quitting time.
Such a pity we have been so unwise.
To signify the irresponsible gambling with our future, I have the figures throwing dice.
I have the birds with big puffed up heads, to signify their self-importance and inability to listen.
Clouds are heavy and the base of the clouds are flat - oppressive and suffocating.
The landscape is devoid of viable growth.
In the background fires are burning.
Burning of fossil fuels and land clearing are two of the main drivers of climate change.
I gave the mat strong concentric rings to show that the behavior has happened, it will happen again and it will continue to again-and-again ... around-and-around ... because change is not cost effective.
Without a sound ecology there is no economy, and then what the F*** could you buy?
Plasticized and digitized, selfish and disconnected. 1800 brands of laundry detergent, and a yearly $107.4 billion 'worth' of games and toys a year.
We have surrounded ourselves with a hundred thousands years of non-biodegradable plastics.
Shopping at our local supermarket, a good 100KM from the ocean, a flock of seagulls were scavenging for scraps. Making me reflect on all the countries around the world where the seas have been denuded of sea life and plastics are prevalent.
A trip to our local dump and it was horrifying to see all the waste. So much landfill being dug down into good rural soil. Above, a regal eagle was looking to scavenge a meal. So very sad!
In this painting there is a storm brewing.
The mat supporting these two is made of cheap Chinese imported plastic.
The game of chess is rigged. Neither can win.
The umpire in the background is small and voiceless.
The line represents the principle of duality, or the law of opposites.
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