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Ignorance's Bliss 

Portraiture and the Climate Crisis

"Our climate is changing faster than scientists predicted and the stakes are high" (Extinction Rebellion). With the use of imagery, content, and paint, I'm exploring the various reactions society has had towards the climate crisis. The works depict both the well-intended nature lovers and the blissfully unaware of how their, and industry's, actions are causing our downfall. All of the works are built with oil paint, a media used historically for capturing important events and significant wars; my works are equally narrative in this way. They capture a moment in time, how humanity is handling our impending extinction.

The scenes balance between idyllic landscapes and acts that are directly affecting how these landscapes are shifting. In these works, the figures are always singular, isolated, and non-confrontational, and accompanied by an animal component. Each piece uses the figure and animal relationship to further allude to the social issue they represent (i.e. a dog companion correlates with domesticity and the home). Through everyday acts, such as gardening or sleeping, the works are familiar yet jarring, detailing what humanity's actions are resulting in. Accompanying the landscapes is a series of pieces that depict a fire burning out, an omniscient point of view and motif of what the collection represents as a whole. I encourage the viewer to ask themselves what they are doing to help our ongoing crisis; and what type of consequences their actions have. 


 

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