Artist's ironic statement in Amsterdam canals highlights climate crisis
At 5 a.m. on Thursday morning in pitch black Amsterdam, French artist James Colomina and his assistant installed the first of two artworks in the city's famous canals aiming to challenge global climate change policies.
The first artwork depicts a child clinging to a canal wall, writing the word "waterline." The second one, just one bridge farther, was installed a few hours later and shows a drowning man holding a flag that reads, "I'm fine."
The Dutch capital, like much of the rest of the Netherlands, is below sea level.
"(Climate change) is an absolute emergency. Climate transcends all borders, all beliefs, all opinions," Colomina said about the installations. "We're no longer talking about politics, but about survival. Through my work, I try to remind people of this urgency."
When Canadian tourist Daniel Lawless (64) first saw the "I'm fine" artwork, he thought it showed a drunk Dutchman. Realizing it's about climate change, he said it gave the work a whole new meaning, he said.
"Now when you look at it, the fact that it's about climate change, it's sort of like, wow, how serious is it? We really do have to look at it and put our thoughts to it. How can we make things different?" he said.
Colomina's red statues have appeared worldwide, from Donald Trump emerging from a manhole in New York to peace statues in Ukraine and Spain.
(Source: Reuters)
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