During the winter, my father would put a sprinkler in the trees, and overnight, the droplets would freeze. A beautiful, glistening winter spectacle. It was tradition, until it wasn't. Those days are long gone, forgotten by the time I turned 10. My sister has never seen a winter that cold. “Drill Baby Drill” are the words of President Trump and the Florida Republicans who control my home state. They are desperate to exploit our natural resources and bulldoze our national parks. I saw it happen to the woods I grew up with, dull grey pavement and roadkill now replace the soft green waves of whiskey grass I had loved. What brings me solace? The simple knowledge that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is set to flood from rising ocean levels.
History is a valued resource, especially within the confines of how companies work under unrestricted capitalism. Company Towns were once synonymous with indentured servitude and cruelty, a reality which only ended when Roosevelt signed the New Deal in response to pressure from unionized people. That was until today, Googletown is coming to Mountain View, USA. The US government is being run by a group that has massively crippled the union’s legal power while spreading misinformation about the importance of being a part of a union as a laborer. In this work, I take inspiration from Cold War era propaganda posters to show how easily one could idealize serfdom.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control released an article detailing how climate change will affect fungal evolution. Did you know that the only reason certain fungal infections can’t infect humans is because of our body temperature? We run too hot for most fungal infections to take hold, giving ourselves an effective immunity to the scariest of the fungal family. As you may have guessed, that won’t be the case for long. As our climate warms, fungus evolves in tandem. In this piece, I have envisioned the result of that evolution, one where our cities are nothing but a brooding ground for the new dominant species.
In 2018, US scientists at the National Climate Assessment warned that at the current rate, temperatures in the southern Great Plains could increase by 3.6 to 5.1°F by 2050 and by 4.4 to 8.4°F by 2100. It’s a number that should send a shiver down the spine of anyone with the faintest knowledge of the Dust Bowl, a tragedy that never should have happened. The Western colonizers believed the soil could be used to exhaustion back then. Today, regulations are being lifted to do the same. Here I have envisioned that future, where there is no victory for the Earth.
Personally, the nature of our world both horrifies and exhilarates me. I find inspiration in the chaos we have created for ourselves. The state of international politics is one of varying levels of frustration and horror. I, as well as many people I know, have seen broken bodies on our screens. The wailing of the drones flying overhead and the sound of a child crying for help as the crunch of tanks approaches. There is nothing righteous in the killing of people, and yet, many of our world leaders seem to be begging for war and the money associated with it. This frustration led me to create this piece, a hopeful victory of the Earth despite our destruction.