CoCA - Centre of Contemporary Art
Month
This weeks blog is inspired by London based artist Dryden Goodwin. Dryden is a British artist whose works often encompass intricate drawings in combination with photography and live action video. He creates films, gallery installations, projects in public space, etchings, works on-line and soundtracks. His works practise reflects of the ethical dimensions of looking at the world and beyond. Dryden’s work Breathe is currently being showcased in our exhibition Precarious Nature here at Toi Moroki Centre of Contemporary Art .
Dryden Goodwin’s Breathe is an animation of over 1,300 pencil drawings of his five year old son, inhaling and exhaling. The boy progresses through fluctuating breathing patterns, at some moments regular, and at others more laboured as he stares out from the frame. Through emphasising the physicality of the act of breathing it the work draws attention to the vulnerability of children, whose developing respiratory systems are is most at risk from pollution, and who will live with the long term physical and environmental effects of our current lifestyles.
This work is taking a critical stance on air pollution and air quality, particularly in London, but it also has significance for us here in Ōtautahi. London, a much larger and condensed city, is the one of the most polluted cities in Europe, with it costing the population approximately £2 billion annually. The air pollution in London is so uncontrollable that it has been shown to cause more premature deaths than both smoking and traffic incidents combined.
The guideline for pm10 in Ōtautahi had been exceeded an average of thirty times a last year, whilst the carbon monoxide guideline is often exceeded ten times a year. Similarly to Christchurch, London has consistently exceeded its yearly limits of PM10 emissions and nitrogen dioxide. An article released 6 days into 2017 reported that London has already breached its annual air pollution limit for the year, which highlights how toxic the air pollution is in the highly condensed city.
Image Source: Putney High Street on 3 January 2017
Air pollution in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) is the worst in Aotearoa New Zealand, with majority of it coming from domestic use of wood and coal burning for heating. The impacts of air pollution are not only damaging on the environment, but also people’s well-being and health - in particular, children. Clean air is made up of approximately 78% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen, .9% Argon and .03% carbon dioxide. When the air is polluted, the levels of toxins increase, which increase the likelihood of morbidity and mortality. Pm10, also known as particulate matter, is a particle that comes in a variety of sizes and has the ability to travel deep into your lung. People in areas less socioeconomically advantaged are more likely to live next to hazardous sites in comparison to those in areas that are socioeconomically advantaged - this is often referred to as environmental racism.
Environmental racism is a type of discrimination that is closely tied to residential segregation, where people who are of low-income or minority communities are more likely to live or be forced to live in areas that are in close proximity to hazardous sites and toxic waste due to race, class and gender. These areas have much higher levels of air pollution, with people, particularly children having ongoing health implications because of it. As mentioned, children and infants are much more vulnerable to the risks of morbidity due to air pollution. The effects that high levels of air pollution can have on children are often long lasting, and can decrease the quality and length of a persons life. The risks associated with air pollution include the increased likelihood of strokes, asthma, cancer, wheezing, bronchitis, reduced lung development, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and heart attacks.
Above is a map highlighting the geographic distribution of PM2.5 air pollution levels at a global scale. The full sized interactive map can be found here where you can zoom into countries or cities you are curious about. It also allows you to see where the dirtiest power plants are situated. Along with this, it gives you a more in depth explanation of what Particular Matter is (PM) and the harmful effects it can have on peoples health and wellbeing.
Some Ōtautahi Christchurch based not-for-profit organizations we are working with include 350.org and Generation Zero. 350 Christchurch are a local group of volunteers committed to taking action on climate change. Generation Zero is a nationwide movement of young New Zealanders working together to get our country on the path towards a zero carbon future.
350.org focuses on the wider social and economic changes we now urgently need to tackle climate disruption. They are a global grassroots climate movement that can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice. Their core goals include hitting the 90% renewable energy by 2025, cute green house emissions, improve insulation levels and many others. Generation Zero is a nationwide movement of young New Zealanders working together to get our country on the path towards a zero carbon future. They campaign for smarter transport and urban planning, and independence from fossil fuels. Both organizations have a central goal of New Zealand becoming less or completely independent from fossil fuels as it is a major factor in carbon emissions and our high levels of air pollution. You can support them by going to their website and signing petitions, donating or volunteering
This week on the blog we have Christchurch based artist Zina Swanson. Zina is known for investigating and interrogating the relationship between humans, their surrounding environments and the natural world. Her work Plants from the sale table is exhibited in Precarious Nature. The specimens in Plants from the sale table have been sourced from the ‘reduced to clear’ stands in large DIY stores around Ōtautahi Christchurch.
A few generations ago, we would have swapped cuttings from our back gardens to propagate new plants, and faithfully stored seeds from each crop for the next rotation. It was survival to grow your own food. But times have changed, especially for city dwellers. Rental properties may not allow gardening, our urban populations are more dense and land is scarce. Resources to create gardens and the knowledge of how to do so have been restricted and monetised. Now, if we are lucky enough to be able to afford both the time and cash resources to garden, more often than not, we buy good soil from plastic bags and garden in pots with little thought to permaculture that might sustain us better.
In saying that, there have been efforts to create a cultural shift to get us ‘back to basics’ with gardening of late. Timely, as global politics sit precariously and so much of our food is now imported. New World supermarket’s ‘Little Garden’ promotion, for example, where one receives a tiny, biodegradable pot, dehydrated soil and seeds to start off your vegetable garden have been a great hit. A mere $40 worth of groceries gets you one pot and the scheme has been lauded as a positive move away from their previous, plastic collectables. However, the campaign is only accessible to a certain class, and the wait time on maturation for many of these seeds is 60-90 days; if they sprout at all. Gardening is a commitment. It remains to be seen if this campaign will inspire a future generation of gardeners so used to instant satisfaction.
It’s not all bad however - There are lots of movements to help people get back in touch with plants and the land.
Organisations such as the Canterbury Community Gardens Association are able to direct you to the closest community garden in your area. In Canterbury alone there are almost 30 community gardens for you to get involved in. They envision to “Strengthen and nurture existing community gardens, and support new initiatives, in order to build strong communities and encourage these by respecting and fostering human and environmental diversity.”
Another organisation that aims to Employ, Educate and Regenerate is Trees for Canterbury. They are strongly linked to the local community, providing environmental education, providing native plants and undertaking planting’s with community organisations and schools throughout Canterbury. Trees For Canterbury uses recycled materials - this often includes the use of “old greenhouses, hessian pretending to be shade cloth – all features of a shoestring budget in combination with a recycling ethic.” To get involved or donate to the non-for-profit organisation you can click here to view their website or like their Facebook page here.
As well as supporting these local initiatives, there are also an abundance of farmers markets during the weekend in Canterbury which allow you to buy local and to support local businesses. These include the Christchurch Farmers Market, Lyttelton Farmers Market and the Opawa Farmers Market.
Above we have a video that gives tips on how to maintain and sustain an urban vegetable garden. This includes information on fertilizer, planting your seeds or plants and taking care of your garden in an urban environment.
This week we take inspiration from the work of artist Hayden Fowler. Born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand and now currently based in Sydney, Fowler’s work explores humanity’s relationship with the natural world and the broader historical and cultural concepts that influence this engagement. He often touches on themes involving desire, freedom, loss and ‘the romantic hope for a return to nature’. His work New World Order, 2013, is currently exhibited in Precarious Nature.
In New World Order, a series of sliding vignettes show exotic, peculiar birds perched in grey woodland. Preening and calling, these are rare heritage breed chickens, their unusual plumages markedly different to the domestic fowl. The scene is bleak, inducing and engaging with Solastalgia, a term coined by the philosopher Glenn Albrecht, which describes the sense of helplessness and distress induced by the loss of our environment, natural ecosystems and biodiversity. This work also draws on contemporary discussions around ecological destruction, genetic modification and the alienation of an increasingly urban society from the natural environment. These themes inspire this week’s blog.
Our Gallery Coordinator, Jennifer Shields was lucky enough to attend Hayden’s talk here at CoCA. Below is a short text she has written about the work.
“Hayden Fowler’s New World Order is so incredibly immersive and realistic that it was not until his artist talk late last year that I realised it was a set, painstakingly crafted in his Sydney studio. At the same time, however, the landscape depicted seems so alien that I found myself, when watching the work beforehand, wondering where the hell on earth it could possibly have been filmed. Everything is incredibly grey and hazy, and the chickens so varied and obviously pedigree that I thought of some farm or reserve in the days immediately after a forest fire.”
Solastalgia: a sense of helplessness and distress induced by the loss of our environment, natural ecosystems and biodiversity
Anne Finegan’s text Solastalgia and its Cure delves deeper into the meaning of Solastalgia. In it, she states, “The cure for solastalgia lies in reconnecting or recreating the community of the commons - cultural and natural resources of the land, water air etc.” The full text is definitely worth a read can be found here.
The emergence of Solastalgia is linked to the Anthropocene; a a new epoch in earth’s geological timeline. The Anthropocene refers to a phase in the earth lifecycle where all aspects of the earth’s systems are greatly influenced by human induced activity. Above is a video which explains how we have got to this stage in the earth lifecycle and why. This video touches on neoliberalism, industrialised capitalism and climate change.
In Aotearoa, we have lost 42 percent of our terrestrial birds since human settlement 700 years ago; 57 species have gone extinct (read more here). The strange birds in Fowler’s work are heritage breed chickens, domesticated birds which have travelled with humans around the world. Their bizarre appearances in the landscape of his work make them seem alien, imaginary; the landscape could be a future where naturally occurring evolution doesn’t exist, and only breeds selected by humans continue. Maybe these breeds we create will outlast us.
With the continuing process of mass industrialisation and intensive land clearing, there is still pressure on the survival of our remaining native birds. Changes in habitat, climate change, draining and clearing of wetlands for agriculture, and predation by possums, stoats and rats all threaten vulnerable populations.
Forest and Bird is a long standing non-for-profit organisation here in Aotearoa, they have been around since 1923 and have helped establish protection for a third of our country’s land in parks and reserves, put an end to logging of our native forests and helped bring species such as the kakapo and kokako back from the brink of extinction. To support the work they do for our native birds and natural environment you can donate to their organisation here or like them on Facebook to get updates of events they are holding. Or if you would rather get involved with the great work they are doing around the country, you can sign up to be a volunteer here.
Climate change will and is having a large impact on the livelihood and survival rates or our native birds. Forest & Bird are currently holding events surrounding the Paris Agreement in lieu of the incoming Climate Change Minister - Paula Bennet. Forest & Bird have stated, “Paula Bennett, the incoming climate change minister, has a big challenge to match the ambition of the Paris Agreement by increasing New Zealand’s efforts to prevent climate disruption”. You can find out more about it here and can also check out their upcoming events here.