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When you live on the coast it is impossible not to notice sea level rise. This is especially true on a primarily undeveloped coast like Georgia’s where islands move toward the continent as they were meant to do rather than being held in one place by concrete and rocks to protect property values. I’ve watched these islands for well over half a century now and recently I read many books about sea level rise and climate change. The literature has changed a lot, from “this is what’s happening” to “this is how we can deal with it.” It’s natural that what I have to say as an artist would deal with this subject.
I’ve been altering and combining images since 1972 so my artistic response came naturally. I blend images of historic architecture with images of water, beaches, clouds and sky using Photoshop. These surreal images are both frightening and serene out of respect for our beautiful Earth or Mama Gaia, as I prefer to call her. The architecture includes two of the places where sea level is measured, Fort Pulaski and Fort Clinch, as well as buildings on Georgia’s barrier islands. I’ll be exploring the Gulf Coast this winter . . . so stay tuned.
When I began this series and showed it to a friend who runs a photo gallery in Atlanta I was told not to mention sea level rise or climate change---too political. Now there is an open public discussion of the topic and few evenings when some aspect of climate change doesn’t’ make the news.
Please help keep an informed conversation going.