Our Climate Voices is excited to present visual works from Carmen Allison, Paola Arraut, Hal Hedinger, Suhaavi Kaur, and Taylor Yingshi.
Over the past six months, these artist residents have engaged in community conversations related to their personal climate narratives, feelings of eco-anxiety, climate grief, and the development of visions for a climate just future. Through these dialogues in monthly workshops, the artist residents have engaged in creativity to process uncertainty, loss, and grief in the climate crisis. These artists now join for a live opening exhibition to share the culmination of their radical artworks that offer new and liberatory visions for climate justice. Each artist will share several works which emerged throughout the residency, offering insight into their creative process as a young artist in the climate justice movement.
Carmen Allison
Carmen recently graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. While the climate crisis has long been a source of anxiety for her, Carmen has found hope and motivation in movement work, fellow organizers, staying grounded in science, as well as art. She thinks that if anything is going to get us where we need to be, it's mass cooperation, which is strengthened by mutual understanding. Storytelling and art can contribute to this sense of mutual understanding, which is why Carmen is excited to be approaching the climate justice movement from a creative angle in this residency.
"Cacophony" - (24” x 48”, Oil on canvas) - Presented in this piece is my vision of a transition to a liberated world. I picture this transition to be tumultuous and somewhat violent. The sinking of the ship and the harsh gaze of the angel represent the striking down and subsequent descent of old practices. I chose to include a fist forcing up the plume where the angel is resting to symbolize how we have triggered this event, and even though I’ve chosen to paint an angel or high power-type figure, this transition away from toxicity is very much inevitable and of our own doing. The choice to use an angel was intentional however, because it is easy to respect an angel, and I imagine a deepening respect for the world which supports us in this hypothetical liberated world.
"Over the Hills" - (18” x 24”, Acrylic on canvas) - This piece is a visual representation of my eco-anxiety. I will preface this statement with the fact that this piece was not at all planned and much more of an instinctual process, meant to be processed by the viewer on their own terms. That said, the overarching concept here is my fear of losing against the clock to turn things around for the climate. There is a vision of a brighter world depicted in the upside-down tear drop, but it feels as though we are rapidly losing sight of this vision, and can only be engaged by our immediate needs and responsibilities. All of it is so ironic to me, since every single human was born from this earth and supported by it every step of our lives. As a species, how is it that we can remain so passive about this relationship? This was the main inspiration for attempting to embed the face in a hilly landscape.
"Climate Grief" - (15” x 11”, Watercolor and pigment sticks) - Similar to Over the Hills, I find myself toying with the human connection to the natural world. When reflecting on what climate grief means to me personally, I feel loss in the idea that the ‘developed world’ so to speak seems to be dragging us further and further away from peace and any sort of authentic existence, instead feeding us the lie that happiness/success can only come from consumption and staying busy. This is why I have represented a dramatic sort of rupturing of the peaceful landscape and embedded woman in this piece.
"Untitled" - (8” x 5”, Ink print) - This piece was my first attempt at a multicolor linoleum print. The design is more experimental than anything, but is meant to represent how though I have always been able to process the world most effectively through science, I had to adjust the lens I use when understanding the climate crisis. Climate science indicating the issue and exactly what we have to do to fix it in order to save our environment has been out there for years, except it is evident that people in power are not compelled enough by the data to act. For this reason, I have found that to stay both hopeful and sane, I have had to go beyond science, data, and research, and really look to other people, organizing and advocacy when it comes to tackling the climate crisis. The lines are meant to represent the tic marks found on a measurement tool, and I have depicted them to be bent outwards in order to loosely express the idea of a more expansive problem-solving view.
Taylor Yingshi
Taylor Yingshi is an emerging artist in Seattle whose work reflects the unique experiences she has gained in adolescence. Yingshi hopes to use her art as a vessel to express the fear and uncertainty of growing up as part of an interconnected, socially conscious generation. Yingshi runs an art collective called Student Art Spaces when she is not in the studio.
"A Sustainable Future" - Inspired by my visit to Volunteer Park Conservatory, I wanted to create a self portrait that reflects my relationship with nature.
"Morning Routine" - This piece aims to capture the feeling of waking up these past few months. Newspapers fly in all directions, fire blazes from the TV, and water is surging in quickly. This particular girl feels overwhelmed by the chaotic scene. While getting dressed, she pauses for a moment in sheer distress.
"Tainted" - Tainted examines the irreversible damage caused by pipelines towards Native American tribes' resources and water supply. The issue is part of a larger, institutional neglect towards Natives that is rooted in colonial era atrocities.
"Laundry" - One of the first pieces I made for this residency. When I was in Shanghai, we would hang our laundry from clotheslines extending across rooftop balconies. The white sheets looked like they extended into the sky.
"Neighborhood" - I used color jitter brushes to distort a quaint suburban neighborhood. This effect emulates the hazy, smokey look that results from a fiery sky.
"New Beginnings" - The subway was created to transport citizens in a rapidly industrializing city. It is built on land that does not belong to us, for a capitalist economy that prioritizes profit over people. I liked the textures of graffiti, and I wanted to use those splatters to indicate a rebellion against these colonial ideas.
"Ravage" - (Oil on canvas, 30 x 24”) - I painted this after seeing wildfires spread across the West coast this summer. We couldn’t go outside without breathing toxic air, and the sky became orange during mid-day. I wanted to convey the irony of how billionaires settle along the coast and build companies with unsustainable practices that they remain untouched by.
Hal Hedinger
Hal graduated from Flathead High School in 2019 and is a rising sophomore at Wellesley College. She currently lives on Kilisnoo Island in Southeast Alaska, calling Kalispell, Montana home. In school she aspires to major in environmental studies and creative writing. In her free time, Hal loves to make art.
“Grief & Wildfire” - (Colored pencil and ink on watercolor paper, 8” x 10”) - I created “Grief & Wildfire” in response to my personal climate narrative. Inspired by an asthma attack that I suffered a few years ago during a bad wildfire season, I developed a concept that I maintained through the residency--our global problem with breathing. This year has seen so much trauma that can be symbolized by both literal and political fire. From wildfires in the Amazon, Australia, and California to a respiratory virus, to the death of George Floyd – it has been universally hard to breathe. Detailed in warm toned colored pencils, the hand on the left represents my community members who are affected by the annual wildfire season in my home state of Montana. The hand connects at the center to the silhouette of a charred tree, representing the aftermath of destruction, and the common grief shared between a devastated environment and a lost people.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: Land Art” - (Digital Photography) This series was an experiment in grief. In an attempt to make land art, I found that I discovered joy—one that possessed a deeper sense of grief for the limited time I have in places like this. In this process-driven series, I began to understand the importance of play time in nature to reconnect with my emotional, intuitive self.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: INHALE” - (Digital Photography) - I had the privilege of photographing this series in Alaska, where I worked this summer. It gave me the chance to symbolically “inhale” following a lot of feelings of existentialism around climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The in-breath represents a sense of apprehension and struggle. But given that I lived in a temperate rainforest, it became physically so much easier for me to breathe, cope with my feelings of anxiety, and find a place to nest for awhile. I remain so grateful for that experience.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: EXHALE” - (Digital Photography) - When I think of my climate future, a lot of hinges on the political decisions of my country. So constructing a visual of my future became kind of impossible until recently, when the U.S. elected its 46th President. The images show my waves of emotion before and during the 2020 election. The photos begin as pensive and bracing, like a calm before a storm. They reference history and the monumental (climatic!) implications of such a dramatic political struggle. It’s followed by a break – a moment of victory, celebration, and creative fire. Now that I know that a climate future is actually being considered on an international scale, I can begin to form an idea of my future again.
“Series: Three Sisters” - (Sculpture from corn husk, corn silk, beading wire, and miniature objects, 3.5” x 1")
“Series: Three Sisters” - (Sculpture from corn husk, corn silk, beading wire, and miniature objects, 3.5” x 1")
“Series: Three Sisters” - (Sculpture from corn husk, corn silk, beading wire, and miniature objects, 3.5” x 1")
Suhaavi Kaur
Suhaavi was born in India and moved to Canada at age 12. She calls both countries home. She is currently studying Planning at the University of Waterloo and intends to specialize in Environmental Planning and Management. Suhavvi has always enjoyed being outside in nature. Being near a beach or on top of mountains is her favorite thing. She also likes to spend my time doing DIYs or listening to podcasts.
"Plated" - (Acrylic on canvas, White acrylic paint, Modeling paste, Tiny rugged bead-sized pebbles, Dried flowers, 44x45cm) - I feel the grief and pain of the climate crisis like I am losing someone very close to me. I visualize it as a single note or a single color and I feel it in these textures in the painting. I am reflecting on the pain of the earth being covered with the new unnatural materials. It is as if nature is being plated with plastic.
"Fingerprint" - (Digital) - My vision for a climate justice future is of everyone’s voices being heard and of a community that supports each other. I want everyone’s unique perspectives to be heard in this fight for a better future. This piece shows a pattern of lines that was inspired by my fingerprint. I want to see a future with everyone’s fingerprint, where everyone’s climate story matters.
"Encased" - (Digital) - This story keeps moving just like life. Time does not stop for us to pause and reflect. That is how I visualize my climate anxiety, as if I am trapped in a glass box filled with all that does not matter, watching all that matters burn right in front of me. I feel encased in a glass box with unessential luxuries that harm our planet. I reflect on my fears in this piece that are the roots of my climate anxiety. (See video version in the exhibition recap)
Paola Arraut
Paola (she/her) is a queer Hispanic artist and is currently attending her local high school Ronald Reagan Senior High. She grew up and lived in Miami, Florida where the sea levels are surging and where Hurricanes are becoming more prominent. She is currently working with OCV in the artist residency to learn and explore how to express climate grief within her art, in addition, she is an Action Fellow at Acespace which leads youth to learn about climate change and take action, she is also involved with 350 a group dedicated to making a change within our climate. Aside from being a passionate Artist she also partakes in playing video games, skateboarding, running, and reading manga or anime.
"Consumption" - (Digital & Paper pastel 6.9 × 9 inch) - is a representation of eco-anxiety and how seeing the news related to any climate crisis or event makes me feel this type of anxiety.
"Processing…" - (Digital 11 x 8.5) - represents trying to put everything together and taking the time to go back and just trying to find ways to heal and process emotions running through when looking at a climate disaster.
"Process of healing" - (Digital 6 x 4) - Is the end piece to the series representing the solution to heal was by working alongside a community to help others throughout the climate crisis. By doing so, it shows hope that things will get better and that we are never alone.
Special thanks to our partner and collaborator Earth Rising Foundation for making this residency possible
