Sinking by the Bow at Midnight
Oil on wood panel. Oak frame. 30x36”
This oil painting is about our current moment and the existential threat to our literal planet caused by climate change.
The oligarchy and the billionaire elites are represented here, both male and female, in the Queen of hearts card and the monocle that doubles as a symbol for the patriarchy and for capitalism—the very machine that won’t allow for long term planning or placing people over profits.
We have a flower growing out of the continent of Antarctica, which is also experiencing thinning of its ozone layer—a double representation of the climate crisis’s impact on fragile ecosystems. There are flowers growing in Antarctica, where they should not be, but are thriving due to rising global temperatures.
The increase in global temperature causing record numbers of heat waves, droughts, and wildfires is represented by a childhood villain: the angry sun. I first encountered this angry sun as a child in Super Mario Bros. 3, level 2-3. It appears benign, until it chases you down and kills you.
Recently, Canadian environmental activist and scientist David Suzuki was quoted as saying, “It’s too late…we have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic, and political systems...We’ve left out the foundation of our existence, which is nature, clean air, pure water, rich soil, food, and sunlight. That’s the foundation of the way we live and when we construct legal, economic, and political systems, they have to be built around protecting those very things, but they are not.”
The lack of action and urgency for climate change strongly reminds me of the tragedy of the Titanic. The Titanic was touted as an unsinkable ship. It was believed that its design would not allow it to sink. In part, due to this fallacy, not enough lifeboats were provided for all passengers. After the collision with the iceberg, the full extent of the damage it had caused was not initially understood, leading to a slow response by the captain and crew. This constellation of hubris, lack of planning, and delayed response time led to the loss of 1500 lives.
The words at the top of this painting were taken from the New York Times headline from April 15, 1912– NEW LINER TITANIC HITS AN ICEBERG: SINKING BY THE BOW AT MIDNIGHT; WOMEN PUT OFF IN LIFEBOATS; LAST WIRELESS AT 12:27 A.M.
Let us hope the constellation of similar factors leading us straight to climate catastrophe can still be averted. Let us hope we can still course correct for our mother Earth.