“MELTING” EXHIBITION
There was a peculiar desire in my soul this past December, a wish to pour powdered sugar all over the green Swiss Alps. This whimsical wish sparked my exploration into my thesis work. As witnessed by the transformation of Gstaad, from a winter wonderland to a winter tragedy, the visible impact of climate change on the region is undeniable. Growing up in Gstaad, I experienced firsthand the dwindling snowfall in the Alps, driving me to use art as a means to convey the urgency of climate action.
I imbue my artwork with the essence of winter and the delectable foods that define my personal experiences in Gstaad. I incorporate materials such as polymer clay and paper, alongside cultural foods like chocolate, meringue, ice cream, cheese, powdered sugar, and hot berries, to convey my message. Through interactive sculptures, postcards, photographs, and traditional Swiss decoupage, I seek to evoke contemplation and dialogue surrounding the evolving Alpine landscape.
The intent of my work is to raise awareness about climate change's profound effects on the Swiss Alps, particularly targeting the affluent who contribute significantly to environmental degradation yet face minimal consequences. By focusing on skiing and luxury tourism in Gstaad, I aim to bring the message of climate change closer to home for this demographic. My aim is not to assign blame, but rather to foster a sense of responsibility among the privileged, urging them to protect the fragile environment.
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OCEAN CONSERVATION EXHIBITION
CURATORIAL RATIONALE
Since I first commenced scuba diving eight years ago I have been mesmerized by vivid underwater landscapes and creatures. Throughout years of diving, I have been able to comprehend how the innate beauty of our marine world is susceptible to the ramifications of the ever-growing burdens of human impacts. I have been fortunate to find solace and empowerment in my ability to story-tell through art. Instrumentalists believe that art leads to social change and can, therefore, be used as a compelling tool. The purpose of my art is to promote awareness for sustaining and conserving our world’s oceans.
My selected work primarily explores the topic of plastic pollution but also examines focused subtopics such as overfishing, coral bleaching, and oil spills. Additionally, I investigate the issue of melting ice, which has additional, drastic implications on oceans. In my exhibition space, all pieces are hung or placed on a dark blue cloth and some are illuminated by blue light to emanate the ocean. Before entering my space viewers must step on the piece “Plastic”. Covered in wasted plastic packaging, four photographs are repetitively placed on the floor. Through their increasingly dense placement, the photographs under the plastic lead viewers into the enclosed exhibition space, illustrating the growing abundance of interactions between the environment, plastic and themselves. Once you enter my space you can see a large projection of the film “Oceans” on loop. The placement of the projection by the entrance and constant movement of the film capture the viewer's interest first. The film encapsulates videos I captured in many different places, that portray in vibrant colors the exquisiteness of the ocean and then suddenly transforms into black and white, depicting the explored themes. I explore each theme with different mediums (2D and 3D) as a visual elaboration. Instead of placing pieces by medium, works are placed by theme to engage the viewer more deeply.
My focal medium is clay, as I felt that three-dimensional works are much more powerful when trying to convey a message since people physically see the sculpted object, which can be enhanced with different textures or glazing colors. I have sculpted a bleached coral reef, an oil rig, animals hanging in a net, an iceberg and a plate with a tuna on it. These pieces are placed close to their particular themes; The “Limited Edition” tuna is next to the spray paint piece, “The Real Danger”. Whereas, the sculpted coral, placed on a plinth, sits in the middle of the exhibition space, encouraging viewers to lower their eyes, similar to how a scuba diver would. A blue light emphasizes the colors (which unveil that the coral is damaged) as opposed to the intricate detail of the coral itself. In instrumentalist nature, I use the blue light to focus on the damage instead of beauty to evoke an emotional response from the viewer. As the physical centerpiece, the varying perspectives that the viewer can see the sculpture from allows it to tie everything together.
The coherency in my art comes from the connection between the various topics researched. The use of color in my body of work is coherently blue, white, black and red. The blue symbolizes our oceans, whereas the black and white symbolize the negative elements such as oil spills and coral bleaching. Red is used when I engraved a message onto clay or spray painted it, this is inspired by Banksy. The color red is extremely powerful and represents crisis, blood, and killing. Therefore using text to represent the animals that are being overfished creates this sense of seriousness while also indicating that many thousands of sharks and tunas are killed yearly and their populations are decreasing drastically. I have incorporated the element of using a strong bold text to support my piece titled “THE REAL DANGER” and elaborate this onto other works that also follow the theme of overfishing, “LIMITED EDITION”. Instrumentalism is seen within every piece, sometimes literally (Shark hangs in a net) and other times symbolically (Feathers engraved in a bowl).
When people enter my space I want them to feel uneasy and discomforted by the topic but hope they may change their attitudes towards consumption of plastics and seafood.
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11 artworks
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MIXED MEDIA
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2018-2020
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11 artworks / MIXED MEDIA / 2018-2020 /
“OCEAN CONSERVATION”
VIVIEN HABEGGER
Oceans, Film, 150x90cm - This film, compiled from a variety of videos while traveling to Indonesia and Antarctica, is an amalgamation of the themes explored within the rest of the portfolio. I want to show people how the state of our ocean is rapidly changing, but it is not too late if we act now. The film initially portrays the beauty of our oceans but suddenly switches to the detrimental impacts that humans have on our oceans, indicated by the black and white footage, which guides viewers into my collection.
Melting Icebergs, Soft pastel, 39x59cm - This soft pastel piece was inspired by a trip to Antarctica, where I witnessed icebergs melting and discovered Zaria Forman’s work. This isolated iceberg broke off of an immense ice sheet (taken from a photograph I took) and now limitlessly floats through the deep sea as its beautiful creation slowly melts into the ocean. I try to illustrate the frightening impacts of global warming on melting ice through the loneliness and darkness of the composition.
Iceberg, Clay with glaze, 24x7x8cm - This abstract iceberg is sculpted in the shape of a krill. During my trip to Antarctica, I was educated and inspired about the vital role that Krill play in ecosystems. At the bottom of the food chain, they provide vital stability for the whole ecosystem, being a primary food source for whales, penguins, and seals. If icebergs will melt, Krill will lose their food source which grows on ice, Phytoplankton, and algae. Krill is also exposed to overfishing, like many other species.
Plastic food, Acrylics and Plastic, 30x30cm (3x) - This acrylic painting series depicts the issue of plastic pollution and how it inevitably affects whales. Whales often consume plastic clips and fishing line, mistaking them for plankton. This series illustrates how plastic waste can lead to the death of marine life since a bundle of plastic in any animal’s stomach will lead to starvation. Inspired by sculptures, by Hefer, made from recycled materials, I collected and incorporated plastic from the ocean into this series.
Plastic, Photography, 270x90cm - This photo shows corals growing on plastic, in Komodo. Through altering color, cropping, and sharpening I changed the intention and the visual aspects of such a raw moment. Through focusing more on the coral, this picture explores the ever-growing relationship aquatic organisms are forced to have with man-made materials. The two separate pieces of plastic photographed showing two different motions are repetitively placed on the floor forcing people to walk on the plastic they tend to ignore.
Drowning in plastic, Wood carving with black Japanese Ink, 60X60cm (3x) - This self-portrait woodcarving series emphasizes my scrutiny of plastic consumption. Having a plastic bag covering my head implies the suffocation and drowning of our planet in plastic. The series captures three dramatic fast movements that show the desperate need to resolve this issue, by bringing more attention to it. The texture that is created, inspired by artist Bernard Garo, reiterates how pressurized and anxious humans need to be reacting to the current state of plastic in our oceans.
Limited edition, Clay with glaze, 20x15x10cm - This clay sculpted fish was inspired by an image I took of a rare encounter of Tuna. Overfishing has made it incredibly difficult to see Tuna whilst diving. A bloody and bold statement saying “Limited Edition” is engraved into this dead tuna that lies on a plate. This aggressive tone is used to show people that these animals won’t be around for much longer if people keep fishing tuna and don’t preserve their species. The point is to increase people’s awareness of their own tuna consumption.
The Real Danger, Spray paint, 84x59.5cm - Inspired by Banksy and a photograph I took while diving with sharks, this piece focuses on overfishing. This artwork was the first in which I explored the use of the bold red text, and I discovered its significance and impact. A common misconception is that sharks are dangerous, and while there are sixteen shark attacks a year, this perishes in comparison to the 100 million sharks, humans kill annually. I wanted to communicate that the real danger is shark extinction and not shark attacks.
Overfishing, Clay with glaze, 160x30x110cm - This clay shark and turtle are displayed in a net. This piece explores the impacts of overfishing and oil spills on marine species. Inspired by a significant oil spill on the Blue Horizon, the shark is covered by oil (oil colored glaze) to show how human activity distorts marine worlds. This piece is a visual elaboration of my comparative study final piece, “The Real Danger”, and elaborates on sharks because they are amongst the most vital animals for the maintenance of the marine food chain.
20th April 2010, Clay with glaze, 20x20x40cm - This Oil Rig I made repeats a moving motion, inspired by Jean Tinguely, and lifts up oil and then drops it back into the bowl again. The Rig lays in a clay bowl that is engraved with feathers. The feathers are a symbol for the 26’000 marine animals and 82’000 bird species that tragically lost their lives as a result of the 2010 Blue Horizon Oil spill. After watching the film, Deepwater Horizon, I was touched by the environmental impact that this spill had.
Coral Bleaching, Clay with glaze, 30x27x15cm - The clay sculpted coral reef, inspired by Jasmin Rowlandson, represents the negative impacts that human activities such as oil spills and global warming have on corals. This is illustrated through different glazing colors, like blue and green tones to represent the resilient coral, black glaze to represent the oil spills and the white glaze to symbolize coral bleaching. Seeing the impact that bleaching has on coral color first hand has allowed me to visualize this sculpture.
