THE COLOUR OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS
An exhibition by Black artists and artists of colour exploring the relationship between racial justice and climate justice
"The climate crisis is racist because it exists in a system that is racist"
— Minnie Rahman
The Colour of the Climate Crisis is a digital and physical exhibition by Black artists and artists of colour exploring the relationship between racial justice and climate justice. This story overviews both exhibitions. The physical exhibitions took place in Glasgow during COP26 in October 2021. The digital exhibition with all the artworks and artist statements lives on at The Colour of the Climate Crisis site.
Art helps us interpret the world and understand its truths
The Colour of the Climate Crisis grapples with a fundamental truth: that we are facing a crisis of climate and nature, and that the people most affected, most at risk and least responsible for it are people of colour.
We know that racialised and minoritised communities are
already on the frontlines of climate change. Their experiences, ideas and leadership must be central to the global response to it.
As world leaders meet at COP26 to discuss the climate crisis, this exhibition offers them an opportunity: to be quiet, and listen. To be humble, and learn. To be brave, and commit to meaningful action.
This is an opportunity for us all to acknowledge the truth that racial injustice is climate injustice, and to begin to change it.
E-waste Cyborg, PRAE CHAIPHET
"The life-threatening burden is on the back of black people and people of colour, but the cruel reality is that black and brown bodies are still undermined and devalued. I blur the line between fiction and non-fiction by creating an e-waste cyborg mask.”
See the full story here
THE OPHTHALMOLOGIST, Román Serra Cisneros
"In a world deeply affected by the actions of humankind...nature itself can only stand defenceless and bear witness to the widespread, daily destruction it faces. Only a minute proportion remains preserved, or untouched. The magnitude of consequence reciprocates
through, causing significant, irreversible effects.”
See the full story here.
White Luck (2021) by Wong Ka YingDo The Green Thing
White Luck, Wong Ka Ying
This concept game is “inspired by modern society and reminiscent of the games you would see at amusement parks, funfairs, carnivals. Rainbows are made with the skin colours of different races; the whiter the easier you may get a prize! The full game set rendering and use of the first-person perspective reveals a more authentic, real-life experience of the struggle to be a non-caucasian.”
Read the full story here.
Let Us Reap What We Sow, MUSH Studio
“Growing up British-Asian, we were always taught the importance of nature, how it literally provides us with food, water and so much more and how we must respect and give back. Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour put so much love into the earth…It is time for us to reap the benefits of what we sow, enjoying the land we love and our own space to grow."
See the full story here.
A Sacred Future (2021) by Rogers OumaDo The Green Thing
A Sacred Future, Rogers Ouma
This film and photography series is “an exploration of the beautiful relationship between the black man and nature. A visual reference to the land the community has managed to protect and preserve for future generations to come.”
See the full story here.
Extract. Emit. Exploit. Mona Chalabi
"When I started to do that same research for this work, I found an old imperial map. It was such a beautiful image, but that was its danger – because oppression can be presented in aesthetically pleasing ways.”
See the full story here.
Internalised Colonialism, Hannah Phang
“Through messaging on a mirror, this piece invites the viewer to reflect on and explore their own internalised definitions of desire and success, and how we often unknowingly participate in systems of oppression, including forms of oppression that disconnect us from ourselves, others and our home planet.”
See the full story here.
Harmony between Nature & Humanity, Jacqui J. Sze
“Using a 1903 antique map of South East Asia as a canvas, unequivocally, it is evident that the landscape has changed vastly over the past century…Inspired by an ancient Chinese proverb, this piece is titled Harmony between Nature & Humanity. We have but only one earth; we will only thrive when we are in coexistence with nature and one another.”
See the full story here.
Raiz do Mundo, Fábio Setti and Tamara dos Santos
“Self-sustainability is revolution. Eating what you sow symbolises the quality of life and preservation of our ancestry…Raiz do mundo ("root of the world") is a feminine knowledge passed from generation to generation, about self-support and planting as a human right and connection with the energies of nature.”
See the full story here.
A Revisionist Future, Ayo Fagbemi and Friends
“This project looks to revise a historical problem that often negates the voices of people of colour out of the climate conversation. With our pieces we look to centre them, putting them and their diverse missions to the front in their own unique way."
See the full story here.
Matters of Time (2018) by Abeer SeikalyDo The Green Thing
Matters of Time, Abeer Seikaly
“This piece reveals the tradition of “matriarchal architecture” and the role of weaving and tent-craftsmanship as a woman’s means of self expression. The underlying reference to the ravaging effects of the colonial project and the slow, yet unyielding erasure of the
Bedouin way of life and practice.”
See the full story here.
Fall Upon Thee, Eddie Opara
“The portrayal of Icarus is of a falling son, a son that was captured by the idea of flying, to go beyond man’s ideals, and so-called freedoms and failed…This should not be moving. Yes it is a disaster of epic proportions, but more a symbolic effect of the Western
world's insatiable desire to invent without consequence.”
See the full story here.
The Nubian Story, Farida Eltigi
“The Nubian Story is about Eltigi's recent focus on the ongoing battle of the representation of unheard voices of our society through her readings, discussions with peers and work…The knowledge that informed this project was mainly from Twitter and Instagram accounts that dedicated themselves to preserving the Nubian culture, language, and traditions.”
See the full story here.
Sufi, Portrait of an Activist, Francis Augusto
"Sufiyan Abdul-Qayun, a 20-year-old campaigner with Clean Air for Southall and Hayes (CASH) known for his candid and joyful style. Francis met Sufi not just to capture an image, but to engage in an open, human conversation about climate activism."
See the full story here.
Untitled (life under the smog), Hamed Maiye
"This piece is based living in inner-city London. Air pollution is a constant day to day involuntary engagement for him. With the recent first confirmed death due to air pollution, we begin to ask ourselves how do we move forward, and when."
See the full story here.
On telling the truth unflinchingly, Ngadi Smart
On telling the truth unflinchingly: Climate catastrophe and colonialism was originally created this work for an article looking at the “global populations who have borne the brunt and lived the apocalypses that white supremacist colonisation, imperialism and
capitalism have created and continue to create.”
See the full story here.
Untitled, Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark
This work “blurs the line between ongoing intersectional concerns and sustainability targets for the benefit of both the audience and the environment, profiling and exploring the shifting viewpoints of race online.”
See the full story here.
Home is a Hostile Lover (2016) by Selina NwuluDo The Green Thing
Home is a Hostile Lover, Selina Nwulu
"Home is a Hostile Lover is a poetic piece that takes the reader on a journey through different sites of climate violence to reflect on notions of migration, home and belonging."
For the full story see here.
Nature vs Future, Shyama Golden
“Nature vs Future is a portrait of a fictional young woman who represents the global majority and Indigenous people who are not only disproportionately affected by climate change, but actively speaking out and organising against the ravages of extractive capitalism.”
See the full story here.
The World is (Y)Ours (2019) by Tanya Noushka RamsurrunDo The Green Thing
The World is (Y)Ours, Tanya Noushka Ramsurrun
This film looks at “how actions in Western countries can negatively affect our ancestral homes across the world. In addition, black and minority ethnic communities living in Western countries are more likely to be adversely affected by climate change ahead of any
other group.”
See the full story here.
BC1: NIGER-DELTA/FUTURE-COSMOS, Wilfred Ukpong
This series "address historical and contemporary socio-environmental issues in the impoverished oil-rich Niger Delta, my birthplace in Southern Nigeria. The staged photographs, produced with local participants as subjects, employ
performance and visual storytelling to create poetic reflections on cosmological paradigms, regional myths and real-life experiences to envision a speculative dimension of the Niger Delta.”
See the full story here.
Do the Green Thing
The Colour of the Climate Crisis is a project by Do The Green Thing, an environmental social initiative that uses creativity to combat the climate crisis. Come say hi.
Thank You
We are grateful to our headline sponsor, Google, and to our supporters and partners including Greenpeace, University of the Arts London, D&AD, Good Praxis, Pentagram Design, The Guardian, It’s Nice That, The Pipe Factory and The Necessary Space.
