Using ecological art to spark environmental conservation (interview with aviva rahmani)
Aviva Rahmani is an ecological artist who exhibits and publishes internationally. She's known, in particular, for her Trigger Point Theory—the idea that small points of carefully selected intervention might effect large systemic transformations—and she exemplifies this through her artwork, including Trigger Points/Tipping Points, Ghost Nets, and Cities & Oceans of If.
One of her more recent works, her Gulf to Gulf Project integrates art and science to address climate change, aiming to help re-green the earth by 36% by 2030.
On this podcast episode, Aviva sheds light on what the role of art is in environmental conservation; what future generations may deduce of our time based on the artwork we leave behind; why we need to find points of sensitivity (or trigger points) to focus our efforts on in order to drive the drastic changes we need today; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Aviva and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
“I hope that people will feel inspired. I hope that they will feel a sense of peace and serenity that there are solutions to these problems. But I also hope they will be activated.”
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast exploring environmental regeneration and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. The preview highlighted has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On what she hopes her artwork will inspire:
"Right now, we need a little bit more than inspiration.
I hope that people will feel inspired. I hope that they will feel a sense of peace and serenity that there are solutions to these problems. But I also hope they will be activated.”
On planting more trees to mitigate climate change:
“In the project that I did with Dr. Turner and Dr. White, one of the things we calculated for Fish Story in 2013 was that if we could re-green the earth by 36% by 2030, we could mitigate climate change.
We're doing exactly the opposite, and we've done exactly the opposite. So go forth and plant a tree.”
On what it takes to translate art into ecological restoration:
“There are now hundreds of people trying to practice ecological art around the world in various ways, in different forms. I hear about it everyday.
I think the only thing you need is to care tremendously about the environment and whether the human species is going to survive in any kind of sustainable way.”
Final words of wisdom:
“Carry on because you don’t know what the next hour is going to bring.“
