Gallery Exhibition Confronts Contemporary Issues

If I were in China right now, one of the stops on my agenda would be Three Shadows gallery, where the exhibition “Coal and Ice” is currently on display.  This show was brought to my attention by the New York Times article, “Beijing Gallery Puts a Focus on Global Warming.”  David Breashers' photographs of a remote Himalayan landscape are the crux of this multimedia exhibition.  But these photographs go beyond depicting the natural beauty of a landscape.  They provide evidence of climate change, revealing the melting of the Rongbuk Glacier as a result of global warming.  Breashears’ glacier photos from his recent mountain expeditions are projected through large-scale panoramic videos.  In the same room, smaller projections document the workers in Chinese coal mines, a practice found to be a major cause of global warming.

The exhibition doesn't merely focus on China: it positions climate change as a global issue.  In addition to the focus on coal mining in China, the curators decided to include vintage photographs from the West, by artists Robert Capa and Lewis W. Hine.  These reveal the prevalence of the coal mining practice throughout history in the United States and Europe, as well.  Moreover, climate change is also responsible for the increasing unpredictability and strength of storms around the globe.  This exhibition features photographs by American artist Clifford Ross, who captured violent, sweeping waves off the coast of Long Island during hurricane season.  As a Long Island native, myself, I find this issue particularly unsettling as it has truly destructive potential if not kept in check.   

The “cause and effect” theme of this exhibition (reflected by the title “Coal and Ice”) and the fact that it is depicted on an international scale, seem to be extremely effective in calling attention to the issue of climate change.  The organizers of the show also hope for it to travel to Berlin, Brazil, New York, and various other locations.  Co-curator Jeroen de Vries interestingly remarked, “Susan and I tried to weave together a narrative in which the photographs speak for themselves.  We did not want to use them as illustrations of a story.”  I think this comment really speaks to the inherent ability of art to convey a message, and allowing viewers to create their own dialogue through interaction with the works.  It also reveals the links between the multiple facets of this contemporary problem, which coalesce when the images are positioned together.

The medium of photography has an almost limitless capacity for confronting contemporary issues.  I particularly appreciate the exhibition’s international focus, as it shows that global warming transcends geographical boundaries.  It is interesting to consider the potential for an exhibition like this to inspire not only contemplation, but also action.  This global problem continues to escalate each day and it is something we cannot ignore for much longer.  Hopefully the organizers will accomplish their goal of bringing this show to New York in the near future, as I would love the opportunity to view it first-hand.