Process IF NATURE WAS WATCHING WOULD YOU BE KINDER?

 IMAGINE IF NATURE COULD WATCH WHAT YOU WERE DOING.

  

 Sculptural wall art. Ply backing board

Paper clay, acrylic paint, gold leaf, resin. Step by step.   60cm diameter

 

 

ICHI-GO ICHI-E

 For this time only  -  Japanese proverb.

To what shall I compare this life of ours?

Even before I can say, it is like a lightning flash

or a dewdrop, it is no more.

 -Sengi

   

The inspiration comes from photographs of my own children. 

I wished to capture the fleeting nature of life. The ephemeral.

I deliberately made the mat they are on look crumpled, to show that it is an uncertain foundation that barely supports them. I wanted to convey that it could disintegrate at any moment - just as bubbles do - as does time, and if we are not careful - as does life.

I spent a fair time making the eyes look more human rather than bird like. I wanted to show that they are aware of the  precarious nature of life. They know each moment is precious. They are aware that all the many small joys this life has to offer, should be celebrated.

No ecosystem exits in a vacuum. What happens to animals, birds vegetation and humans is sequentially, and inevitably tangled together.

You-Are-Here

Be the catalyst for a revolution.

Do the difficult things while they are easy

and do the great things while they are small.

 

Herculean Task

 One of the most difficult things if for people to suspend disbelief.

  

PRICKLY SUBJECTS

 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?

The world is suffering.

Consume less - consume better.

ECHO OF IGNORANCE

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.

The Gloves are Off

 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 of rapidly melting glaciers, terrifying megafires and ever more puissant hurricanes, of acidifying and rising oceans, 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.

 

DUBO - To play, wager, gamble.

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.

Your turn.Your choice.

 It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent,

but the one most responsive to change.    -   Charles Darwin

 

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

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.

Economy vs ecology.

RustRoo workshop

WOOPS! Try later . . .