After Nature

In a recent visit to New York City I had the privilege of getting to see a relevant and disturbing exhibition at the New Museum called “After Nature”. Over ninety contemporary artists envision an extinct world or one on the verge of extinction. The show was inspired by "Lessons of Darkness", a video by Werner Herzog of the 700 Kuwaiti oil wells that the Iraqis burned in the wake of the Gulf War. Six million barrels of oil were burned a day and the footage of the smoke, fires, fireman, trucks and wasted landscape looks like the end of the world.

Faced with the overwhelming fact that the Earth’s Ecosystem is out of balance due to human population and the dramatic abuse of fossil fuels, we are forced to imagine scenarios of global catastrophe. We are already experiencing more severe storms, floods, draughts, and hurricanes than ever before. Many scientists predict that runaway global warming is inevitable and as humans warm the planet, the ice caps melt and sea levels rise creating as many as 600 million refuges from rising seas (The International Institute for Environment and Development). As glaciers melt less water is stored as snow creating flooding and lower water tables. Water shortages along with population growth spell disaster. We have been living in a time of unnatural abundance by burning ancient sunlight that has been stored for millions of years. The exhibition “After Nature” is a timely look at our potential lack of future if dramatic change does not take place soon.

Imagine an ethnographic museum full of the remnants of human civilization. Here artist Pawet Althamer created a self-portrait made up of all his clothes and belongings wrapped in plastic. Next to this is “Pawet and Monika” two people frozen in a glass box with cameras and cell phones, yet their insides are made of straw. This is a poignant reminder that we may feel detached from nature yet we are in fact one and the same. Berlinde De Bruyckere has made a wax body that is melted and scared, lying in a glass coffin. Next to this can be viewed “The Magnificent Seven” distorted ceramic heads on metal poles by Thomas Schutte, a sculpture that made me think of warfare, both primal and chemical.

Another artist imagined a world in which nature outlived humanity, shown by photographs of Kudzu vine devouring buildings in the US South. These were both sad and strangely beautiful, showing the Earth’s ability to heal and erase signs of human life. It made me think of ancient ruins from past civilizations such as the Incans and Mayans that were discovered hidden in the jungles of Central and South America. Diego Perrone also used photography to take pictures of large holes in the Earth with humans interacting with the spaces. He says about his work “ I wish to speak for nature”.

George Bush has tried to fill our minds with religious views of good and evil and the idea that the “axis of evil” exists in the Middle Eastern states. Inspired by this image of paranoia Roberto Cuoghi has sought to create a psychogeography of this evil empire through black glass, lead and ink maps of imaginary “dark” landscapes. In perhaps one of the most distressing of the show’s art pieces Maurizio Cattelan’s equestrian sculpture shows a taxidermied horse hanging with its’ head missing into the wall. The feeling is one of fear and madness.
Although this show “After Nature” is frightening and heavy I left the New Museum encouraged. Finally artists are involved in creating art about ecological issues. Ecological art is not a tiny movement on the edges of the art world, but entering into large museums and influencing the public to wake up and realize the extent of the change that needs to happen if we are to avoid global catastrophe.

Alpine Sow Thistle

On precipitous ledges and cool gullies in the Eastern Grampian Mountains of Angus and South Aberdeen there lives a rare alpine plant called Cicerbita alpina or Alpine Sow Thistle. This plant has survived since the last ice age but is currently classified as vulnerable. The Eastern Grampian Mountains are its only stronghold within the UK and Alpine Sow Thistle has gradually been forced into the most remote places where it is protected from sheep, deer and mountain hares. It can be found in only four locations within these mountains between 600m and 1000m. It usually lives on North facing ledges or ravines where snow is plentiful and provides water in the spring to nourish new shoots. It is unfortunate that the plant has been forced into such extreme sites for protection as the current populations suffer from the exposure and the plants appear battered with browning leaves. There is concern that with climate change the habitat for Alpine Sow Thistle will be reduced resulting in further losses. Other threats are rock falls, and population isolation, which can lead to seed infertility. The Alpine Sow Thistle presents us with a frightening look at the impact of grazing on Scotland’s wildlife, in which many plants can only survive in the most remote and precarious locations.

Bibliography:

Alexander, L. Action Plan Research on Alpine Blue Sowthistle, C. alpina. Report to Scottish Natural Heritage.

Lusby, Philip and Wright, Jenny. Scottish Wild Plants: Their History, Ecology and Conservation. Mercat Press, 2001.

Norwegian Specklebelly

Pseudocyphellaria norvegica or Norwegian Specklebelly is a lichen that has gone extinct in Wales and lives in only one location in England and five locations in Scotland. It survives in ancient woodlands on hazel, ash, sallow, elm, oak and willow. Due to their interesting symbiotic relationship between fungus and alga (with the fungus providing water and minerals and the alga photosynthesis) lichens are tough and able to survive in extreme climates. They are however very sensitive to air pollution and are sometimes used as bio-indicators of air quality. The Norwegian Specklebelly suffers from over acidity due to air pollution and this contributes to its decline in the UK. It is also at risk from deforestation, as it does not grow on young trees. This interesting lichen is mostly brown in color with white on the upper surface of the thallos. It is considered to be leafy and lobed and prefers sheltered humid locations near the coast.

Bibliography:

Black, B & Raymond J. Glen Nant Caledonian Forest Reserve Regeneration Plot Annual Reports 1992-2005, Forestry Commission Scotland.

UK Biodiversity Action Plan.Species Pseudocyphellaria norvegica. http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=537

Matted Bryum

It is easy to appreciate a vintage wine or a precious antique for their age and value. On Earth terms however with the planet being over 4.5 billion years old modern human species (originating with Homo Habilis the first of the Homo genus line) is young having existed only 2.2 to 1.5 million years. The first land plant species are bryophytes and have existed for 400 million years. This alone should be cause to value these incredible plants. Bryophytes are made up of three distinct groups, mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Scotland has over 920 species of bryophytes. They are ecologically important as they absorb water, maintaining humidity in the soil over dry periods and preventing flooding in wet periods. They are pioneers meaning that they often will sprout first enabling other plant species to follow them. Many animals and invertebrates live on bryophytes.

Bryum calophyllum known as Matted or Blunt Bryum is an endangered bryophyte moss that lives on coastal moist sand dune slacks. It has become extinct in all but four locations in Britain and exists only in one location in Wales and the remainder in Scotland. It currently can be found in West Ross, Islay and Bettyhill. It is threatened by habitat destruction. In several sites it has gone extinct due to golf course development and the construction of holiday homes. It is also at risk from trampling, motorcycle dune joy riders, eutrophication of water supplies due to chemical fertilizers used on nearby golf courses or farms and drainage. Other threatened bryophyte mosses are Petalophyllum ralfsii or Petalwort, a liverwort which survives in only one location on the West Coast of Scotland, Bryum neodamense or Long-leaved Thread-moss which exists in one location in Scotland and Bryum warneum or Warne’s Thread-moss which exists in only five locations in Scotland. It is important to protect this ancient species and limit coastal development, golf courses and chemical agriculture in Scotland.

Bibliography:
Holyoak, Dr. David. Looking After Rare Mosses and Liverworts in Coastal Dune Slacks. Back from the Brink Management Series, Plantlife, 2003.