The Planet in Transition

The very first artwork in the exhibition makes it clear that this issue affects everyone: Island Universe 2 (2023, image above) by Teresita Fernández evokes the planet’s past, when there was still a single, contiguous continent. Fernández arranges the landmasses in an almost axis-symmetrical pattern: What happens to one side also happens to the other; the usual displacement of problems to the Global South is suspended—it no longer works. With the exhibition Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change, the Vancouver Art Gallery brings the significance of climate change back into focus: artworks from the past 25 years present the topic from different perspectives and can thus reveal facts and insights that are no longer captured in media coverage. The exhibition runs through January 10, 2027.

The more than 35 works on display cover a wide range of media, including large-scale video installations and works made from unusual materials such as tobacco leaves and used fishing nets. Participating artists include John Akomfrah, Huma Bhabha, Andrea Bowers, Edward Burtynsky, Teresita Fernández, Jeffrey Gibson, Brian Jungen, Josh Kline, Liz Larner, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Jean Shin, and Clarissa Tossin.

Until November 15, visitors to the Vancouver Art Gallery can also experience the related immersive installation SANCTUARY: The Ancient Forest Experience. The 360° projection, created by artist and activist Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss in collaboration with filmmakers Damien Gillis and Olivier Leroux, showcases some of British Columbia’s last remaining primeval forests: places that few people have ever seen and that are severely threatened by current climate change.