Adventure Ecology: Raising Awareness Through Art
London, England
By Emily Eichhorn-Nye

The existence of global warming is no longer a subject for debate; it is a fact. ‘Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level’. Unfortunately, there will always be people who choose to ignore the seriousness of the threat. Governments may have political and economic reasons; for individuals it can be laziness, stubbornness, and even willful ignorance. The earth, throughout its history, has gone through severe climate changes - we only have to think of the Ice Age – but an attempt to use these facts to create a smoke screen for global warming is a travesty. This time global warming is man-made and it will affect us for generations.

By the time this article is posted, the UN conference in Bali will be over and the United States of America will inevitably have failed, yet again, to lead the world in protecting the planet’s future. The threat of international terrorism continues to dominate the government’s priorities; the view is strictly short term and very dangerous.

At one time we relied on Greenpeace and similar organizations to keep us informed of potential ecological crises and to campaign on our behalf to governments driven by hunger for power and world domination. But the impact of Greenpeace and others has been compromised by its more extreme tactics and the negative media coverage that has followed. They are no longer considered by the majority to be campaigning on behalf of the people but rather following their own political agenda.

So who can fill that role of raising awareness and focusing attention on the goal of saving our planet? Scientists, speaking out about the facts are having a growing impact and more actors are using their celebrity to promote conscious behavior. But the power to truly transcend the quagmire of false information, entrenched political beliefs, and good old-fashion irresponsibility is a rare gift. So what of the artist? With no agenda, but their own, visionary artists may have the power to inspire a new point of view; to help humanity see the world, every day events, and life in a new way.

Adventure Ecology, founded in 2005 by the insightful David de Rothschild, combines ‘adventure, education and the arts to address global sustainability’. AE has traveled with artists on ‘field expeditions to explore some of the world’s most fragile regions with the end goal of presenting work in response to their findings’. Artists may be the perfect mediators. They have no political agenda, only a desire to share their encounters and observations through their chosen medium. They can provoke understanding at the deepest level. When an artist is ready to present a work to an audience he is ready to express himself in the best way he knows and the viewer can have his own experience of what the artist has seen. The work can directly inform the opinion of the viewer. A discourse is created that is uninhibited by party politics or social and economic status. The potential is clearly there both to raise awareness and to provoke change.

De Rothschild’s mission is to travel to some of the world’s most environmentally-threatened regions and to document the team’s findings for the education and enlightenment of the public. He wants to show it ‘as it is’ rather than expressing an opinion. The effects of global warming directly prevented the completion of his first expedition to the Arctic. This galvanized him into a realization of what could be accomplished by sharing the experiences of the expedition with the world at large. He decided that on future expeditions artists would be part of the team and ARTiculture was created.

In early 2007 they went to Ecuador to observe the operations of Chevron, a “green” oil company. What they saw and brought back for the public’s information was a massive gap between Chevron’s self-marketing and the reality of their operation in such an ecologically vulnerable part of the world. An exhibition was staged and the exhibits are still available on the Internet. Photograph’s and a 16mm film showed the impact of global industry on both the indigenous people and the fragile eco-systems. No opinion, just fact.

Very few people concerned about the health of the earth will ever have the opportunity to travel to distant endangered areas. To understand what is beyond our geographical reach we have to rely on independent explorers and their recordings of what they have seen. David de Rothschild uses his family name and wealth to spearhead this project but fundamentally understands that the world needs to be seen through other eyes than his own. The idea of environmental art for the educational part of his mission is his solution to that problem.

So how can artists best raise awareness? A platform always helps! ‘The Gallery’ in London, Adventure Ecology’s exhibition space is a great start. The space has been created so that debate can focus on the issues of climate change through the work of emerging and established artists. Artists’ innovative ideas will not necessarily approach this idea of global warming in black and white and their lateral approach is the key element in their ability to challenge us. Sarah Dwyer, currently exhibiting at ‘The Gallery’ until 21st December, presents an ethereal questioning of climate change. There is a Turneresque quality to her paintings that draws the viewer into their complex surfaces. The paint moves over the surface like a storm at sea, in quick, tempestuous movements, juxtaposed with slow, methodical and delicate brushwork. The venue itself enhances the artist’s desire to communicate her fears for the survival of the environments she depicts.

To work and have that work recognized by an art community is any artist’s greatest desire but when you can join that recognition with a monumentally important issue its value takes on an additional dimension. In January Claire Morgan, the artist in residence at AE, will exhibited her new work in response to the Adventure Ecology mission. Her work deals with the vulnerability of the organic world, but like many artists she does not want to be pigeonholed into a specific art form. Her art practice is not one of an ‘environmental artist’; she is a sculptor. Nonetheless her work at AE makes a very strong statement in terms of the fragility of life and death, and how we lose our natural connection with the earth and each other when we surround ourselves with superficial objects.

Bursting the bubbles that insulate most people will be no easy feat. Contemporary Art is attracting unprecedented levels of investment. But how do you show the individual who has two cars, doesn’t recycle, and thinks that organic food is a hoax, that this abstract painting represents the devastating effects of a tsunami, or a destructive hurricane, or the consequences of the melting polar ice caps? Environmental Art isn’t there to brow beat the viewer into submission, but to simulate an awareness of an overwhelming problem and nurture that thought to a point where the viewer might be inspired to apply that knowledge in his own world.

AE has inspired teachers and students around the world. Their Ecuador mission provided exciting educational materials. They brought back first hand accounts of the vulnerability of the Achua and the Huaorani peoples, caused solely by the first world’s appetite for oil, without allowing themselves to criticize or politicize. By maintaining their apolitical stance they are better able to attract the concern of the public at large. The expeditions, the ensuing exhibitions and the interactive technology available on the World Wide Web combine to strengthen and grow an awareness of global sustainability, which is AE’s ultimate goal.

Children at school are being made aware of the issues and ecology through art can further open their minds to new ways of addressing the challenges. From a young age they can be encouraged to practice global responsibility. The task of educating the general public when new knowledge becomes available needs to be addressed. Unlearning is inherently a difficult process. The adults amongst us have formed their opinions and those opinions have had time to become entrenched. A child is always open to learning and it is through ecological education in schools and the questions that the child will bring home about attitudes to green issues that may be the first challenge to the adults’ learned behavior in this area. It will at least encourage them to question themselves.

Adventure Ecology may have its critics but it has earned its accolades. Its involvement of artists in its mission has enhanced its message. There may be other ways to raise awareness but while the discussions go on about which ways might be best, AE has taken the position we don’t have time to wait. It may take many shows by many artists, but decisive action is actually happening.

Emily Eichhorn-Nye

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