Extra Insights III
The Sea from Here
“What we need most of all is for all of us to start an international conversation about the rising ocean...”
John and I first opened a dialogue in 2018, focussing our exchange on the topic of rising sea levels, which my artwork has aimed to explore over the last few years. Soon after, he wrote a short text for my exhibition Rising Horizon. During February and March of this year, we were set to exhibit together in the group show Chronicles form the Edge, alongside works by artists Joseph Calleja, Austin Camilleri, and the late Robert Callender. The show was to be a follow up to As Coastline is to Ocean (An Talla Solais, 2019). As a result of the pandemic, however, galleries have mostly remained closed – as they’ve had to – and so the show has been put indefinitely on hold.
The global outbreak of COVID-19, in early 2020 ‘demonstrates some striking similarities between pandemics and rising sea level’, John writes in his latest book, Moving to Higher Ground: Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward. ‘All major countries were warned for years about just such a pandemic … as with the future threat of rising sea level, there had been warnings, but they were largely ignored.’
We timed the two-part release of The Sea from Here to coincide with the launch of Moving to Higher Ground. This new work on the forces driving climate change and sea level rise is a must read for concerned people of all ages. John also narrates the audiobook version. ‘We are now at the moment in human history when we must start moving to higher ground. Metaphorically for most, and for many people on the coast, literally.’ The over-riding message is that rising sea level will likely be ‘the greatest agent of disruption and destruction this century.’ John argues simultaneously for prevention, and realistic future planning. Prevention: we still have time to slow sea level rise, if we rapidly adapt our usage of Earth’s resources. Realistic future planning: sea rise is already “locked in” for this century, and so we must plan ahead with a moving coastline in mind – moving to higher ground – whilst doing all we can to halt greenhouse gas emissions and grab hold of our rising global temperature. If we act now upon both areas, future generations will benefit. ‘But we must make haste’.
John’s first book High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis is a superb resource and one of the key books to have influenced my environmental art practice; offering a radically different point of view and clearly breaking down the science behind sea level cycles.
Profiles
John Englander is an oceanographer, author, and international speaker on climate change and Sea Level Rise.
Multiple expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica have showed John, first-hand, the devastating effects of melting ice on land reaching the sea. These expeditions, coupled with his broad science background in both oceanography and geology give him a unique perspective on planet ecology and the grave dangers we face from climate change, severe weather events, and unstoppable sea level rise.
His mission is to be a clear voice on our changing climate and oceans. For over 30 years, he has been a leader in both the private sector and the non-profit arena, serving as CEO for such noteworthy organisations as The Cousteau Society, The International SeaKeepers Society, and The Underwater Explorers Society. He is now President of the Sea Level Institute, working with businesses, government agencies, and communities to understand the financial risks as increasing severe storms and long-term sea level rise challenge us to adapt to a shoreline that will move inland.
Though principally a painter, my work also involves – in no particular order – design, photography, writing, research... These aspects support the development of my practice and allow me to collaborate often.
Read more about my artwork throughout this website. Lens-based works can be seen here, and a summary bio below.
“It starts with education. We all need to be teachers and students...”