DROWNING WORLD Gideon Mendel

Lauriston Gallery, 10 Sep 22 - 05 Nov 22

Extreme weather caused by the climate crisis is becoming increasingly frequent. IN 2022, the UK recorded its hottest ever temperature of 40.2 degrees, leading to multiple areas declaring a state of drought, followed by flash flooding. As scientists and engineers continue to develop ways for us to reduce the likelihood of catastrophe, many people face the immediate devastating impact of extreme weather on their lives, homes and communities.

Drowning World is an exploration of flooding using photography and video by activist and artist Gideon Mendel, who challenges expected representations of natural disaster. The aim of this long-term project is to portray the human condition within the context of overwhelming climate events around the world, highlighting the global nature of the climate crisis. Since 2007, Mendel has made nineteen trips to document floods in thirteen countries, witnessing a shared human experience of catastrophe which are brought together in visual solidarity through this exhibition. While the repercussions of extreme weather can be felt by us all, the divide between those who have the economic wealth and infrastructure to recover from the destruction keeps growing. The Drowning World shown here represents just a tiny fraction of those lives buffeted by our climate emergency in the years of making this work.

Curator: Bella Probyn

Images by Jason Lock

 SUBMERGED PORTRAITS

Photographic print on aluminium

With this series of Submerged Portraits, Mendel uses portraiture to show the impact of the climate crisis in an intimate way, taking us beyond faceless statistics and into individual experiences. He works with people to pause and engage the camera, looking out from their inundated homes and devastated environments. While their poses may seem conventional, the context is catastrophe, and their gazes are unsettling. They are not disempowered victims: in their encounter with the camera they invite us to engage with the calamity that has fallen on them. In this room we find portraits from people in the UK, Haiti, Nigeria, USA, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Bangladesh.

 You'll notice that some of the works have sustained some wear and tear during touring. In the interest of reducing waste, we have chosen not to re-make these artworks and instead display them in their damaged materiality.

THE WATER CHAPTERS

Looped, single-channel video

39mins 48secs

The Water Chapters video installation explores individual, family, and community responses to flooding, each “chapter” dedicated to one country’s flood. The nine chapters cover Thailand (2011), Nigeria (2012), German (2013), The Philippines (2013), The UK (2014), India (2014), Brazil (2015), the USA (2015) and France (2016).

 The footage shows how in these landscapes life is suddenly turned upside down with the floodwaters revealing much about the societies they impact. Scenes of flooded landscapes and recovery efforts are intersected with footage of people standing still, the water and its reflections moving around them. The sharp contrast brings the human impact of flood damage to the surface. The editing formally contributes to the non-documentary style of the videos, focusing on the filmic and photographic qualities of each shot.

SHIELDS

Mendel is an activist who uses art to draw attention to the climate emergency. These Shields are some of the 95 which were created by the artist for use as symbolic shields for participants in the art/activist events that were part of the COP21 Climate Conference in Paris.

The front of each “shield'' shows an image from the Submerged Portrait series. The back of each “shield” is painted red, so that a group of participants could form a red line during

environmental actions — such as blockading the COP21 Conference venue.

WADERS

This pair of waders were worn by the artist during his trips to the flooded homes of people shown in this exhibition.