Jacqui Jones
'As a graduate artist, I have been creating work about climate change and other environmental issues for over nine years. During this time I have extensively worked with scientists, companies and festivals involved in the ecological field. My creative activism engages and informs, enabling the public to connect with environmental issues in ways that change their usual modes of perception.
A recent period of post graduate study concentrated on devising methods of communicating complex scientific data in ways that are that are
visually compelling and difficult to ignore.'
The two pieces I have selected for Carbon - Borders - Voices illustrate the problems the planet faces in global terms. Both incorporate burnt maps indicating the soaring increase in global surface temperatures. The burnt paper is literally coated with carbon in the form of soot; both a contributor to air pollution and climate change. Intrinsic to the work is the necessity to create the work ethically and sustainably therefore the artworks were formed using recycled and sustainable materials. The resulting artworks are a fusion of art and science that arouses empathy and curiosity.
SUSPENSE
2021
'SUSPENSE' is one of a series of hammocks made in the summer of 2021. A fragile form, made from crushed sculpted paper, it contains burnt maps of nations experiencing the effects of climate change. The hammock, hung precariously at an angle, causes the nations represented on the maps to be in danger of perilously spilling over the edge.
Are we fast approaching a tipping point?
The work came about by someone in the UK saying to me 'thank goodness for climate change, I hope we have a hot summer'! In the bigger picture of the climate crisis, one person's summer lazing in the increasing temperatures of their temperate climate has dire consequences for those in more arid areas.
WARNING - GLOBAL WARMING
2021
'WARNING - GLOBAL WARMING' is a reproduction of a NASA graph indicating the rising trajectory of global surface temperatures from 1920 - 2020. The graph is formed from burnt atlases, out of date due to changes in the status and borders of the world's nations. The artwork utilises burnt maps to weave together cultures and countries into a graph soaring from ground to ceiling level as it contorts around the architectures of the particular building in which it is located. The piece has impact both at a distance and close up when it becomes apparent that the layout of the maps travels from pole to pole. The climate crisis is a global problem and this piece places the viewer at the heart of issues both locally and in the wider world.
