With the UN Climate Summit approaching, there’s going to be a lot of talk about climate change. So this seems like a good moment to let images speak for themselves. Below, you will find a small gallery of images from UK artists Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones depicting the potential impact of climate change on major world cities.
Their confronting series Postcards from the Future depicts possible scenarios based on scientific forecasts for a world in which climate change continues, unimpeded.
Parliament Square Water Crisis Centre | © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones
Camel Guards Parade | © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-JonesWith the arc of the London Eye on the horizon, Camel Guards Parade represents the famous military and ceremonial parade ground in Whitehall in a new guise. Amid a dusty haze of heat and sand, camels have replaced horses for the Queen’s own household guard.
Aerial Flooded Thames | © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones, aerial photograph Jason HawkesLike a modern day Canaletto, this disturbing yet strangely peaceful aerial view of a flooded Thames was inspired by shots of New Orleans submerged under the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. Curious to know how London would appear under similar conditions, Graves and Madoc-Jones transposed projection of a 7.2 metre flooded river on to their digital 3D model of London and aligned with a photograph of the Thames shot by Jason Hawkes. 7.2 metres is the level at which flood waters would breach the Thames Barrier. The low light of the photograph creates an evocative sense of dimension to the view, forming the impression that we are looking at a partially submerged stage-set.
Parliament Square Rice Paddies |© Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones.A new global economy demands that we become more self-sufficient as former food sources become less reliable and shipping food around the world becomes unsustainable. Austerity encourages us to ‘grow your own’ – even 10 Downing Street and the White House have allotments now. Self-sufficiency also challenges the value of power formerly invested in symbolic sites of political power. In Parliament Square Paddy Fields Graves and Madoc-Jones take a quintessential tourist view of Big Ben and re-present it as a watery landscape inspired an environmental project in East Asia during which Europeans were taught to plant rice. The final image invites us to imagine how the population of central London could re-appropriate the land on their doorstep. Replacing the statues of Churchill, Lloyd George and Disraeli are urban farmers harvesting iridescent green shoots amid the London smog.
Notting Hill Carnival | © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-JonesLike a Richard Hamilton photo-collage, Notting Hill Carnival is a visual composite of 20 separate images. A chance discovery of a shot of a young woman applying sun cream (shown at bottom left of the image) catalysed the idea of transforming and uniting London’s carnival audience in blue sunblock. Like the Australian public health advice to ‘Slip Slap Slop’, perhaps a similar Government campaign to protect ourselves from sun damage is not too far in the future?
Piccadilly Circus | © Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones.At the heart of London’s theatre land, Piccadilly Circus is synonymous with bustle, noise and traffic. How would the famous junction appear in a future flooded London, after its iconic façades are re-clad with lotus-like solar panels and the spot is invaded by energy harnessing windmills? After photographing Piccadilly Circus from the elevated vantage point of Lilywhite’s department store, Graves and Madoc-Jones visually enhanced the appearance of Eros. In reality, its architectural environment dwarfs the 19th century sculpture just as its iconic status is hi-jacked by the surrounding digital advertising. By enlarging the scale of the solar panels and manicuring the urban landscape, the artists playfully imagine a dynamic new setting for the winged messenger.
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