Exhibitions's texts

E - The Time to Come Together

Climate change is a common concern of humankind, Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity (Paris Agreement on Climate, 2015, Preamble)

The time for statements of fact or sterile accounting of responsibilities in the face of environmental damage is over. The climate emergency obliges us to take up the challenge of profound change in order to save our common home, the Earth. This transitional period forces us to do all in our power to go beyond the time of crisis and the feeling that things are beyond repair by adopting another model of relating to the environment and by learning from the practices defended by Indigenous Peoples. Alongside them, we shall be able to weave a common future founded on the values of care, repairing, and responsibility regarding all forms of life. When we see, hear and listen to Indigenous Peoples’ accounts, our conscience is awakened and comes to understand the necessity of becoming agents of this change.

Gákte-Quipo

Gákte-Quipo
By Máret Ánne Sara (1983-) and Cecilia Vicuña (1948-)
Sami and Mapuche
Sápmi, Norway
2017
Textiles, metal
Collection Máret Ánne Sara
© MEG, J. Watts

Gákte-Quipo is a collaborative work by Máret Ánne Sara and Cecilia Vicuña. The Gákti (traditional knee or calf-length Sami jackets) were sent to Máret Ánne Sara from different areas of Sápmi in solidarity with the court case of her brother Jovsset Ante Sara. This installation, completed in 2021 using traditional clothes from the Indigenous Peoples of Sabah in Malaysia and a work by the Ts’msyen artist Kandi McGilton, ties together the personal histories of Indigenous Peoples’ struggle from north to south, as a response to the environmental damage accelerated by climate change. This work also evokes the quipo tradition. Quipo means both knot and account in Quechua. Without writing, the Inca administration represented whole numbers using a series of knots on different coloured cords attached to a rope. Together these made up a quipo.

Rise: from one Island to Another

Two poetesses, Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands and Aka Niviâna from Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), meet and answer each other on two phenomena concerning their respective environments. The first, the sister of ocean and sand, talks of the rising sea level. The second, the sister of ice and snow, tells of melting glaciers. They evoke the close connections existing between their environments affected by climate disruption. The images show us both how vast our planet is and how close and interdependent we all are. They invite us to watch this video, to let ourselves be captivated by the beauty of the images of our planet and to let poetry do its work. They remind us that climate change is everyone’s concern and urge us to choose between remaining seated and doing nothing or standing up to act.

Artist’s statement - Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

“I was born in the Marshall Islands, raised in Hawai’i and am currently based in Majuro, the capital city of the Marshall Islands. My primary creative practice explores my culture’s rich storytelling and how it intersects with evolving issues threatening our islands and community. My focus has been climate change and the legacy of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. I didn’t enter the climate realm in a very conventional manner. It started with a deep love for our islands. A deep love that translated into an urgent fear when I experienced my first king tide flooding. I share this love and that fear through the mediums of poetry, performance, and media. My practice is also informed by the community through the non-profit Jo-Jikum that I co-founded and direct. Our organization includes programs like our Climate Arts Camp, where we teach high school students how to use the arts, to raise awareness on climate impacts, transforming them from passive victims to creators and artists.”
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner