Counting One to Four: Nature morte, 2015
Counting One to Four: Nature morte is an eco-critical artwork by Debbie Symons visualising projected biodiversity loss using scientific data and IPCC climate models.
The work draws on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2014 RCP 8.5 scenario to examine the consequences of a warming atmosphere. Through the use of percentage-based formulas and moving image, it presents projections that up to 52% of species may face extinction by 2100.
The work situates these projections within the broader context of international climate negotiations, referencing decades of Earth Summits that have failed to halt environmental decline.
By translating complex scientific data into visual form, Counting One to Four foregrounds the scale and urgency of the ecological crisis.
The work visualises the projected consequences of a warming atmosphere on global biodiversity through the use of percentage-based formulas. Drawing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2014 “business as usual” RCP 8.5 scenario, the work moves beyond a singular image of environmental damage to present a more complex analysis of cause and effect.
Under this model, projections suggest that up to 52% of terrestrial mammals, reptiles, amphibians, marine species, and insects may be committed to extinction by 2100. The work translates these projections into a visual framework, foregrounding the scale and urgency of biodiversity loss in the context of climate change.
Image: Counting One to Four: Nature morte, 2015. HD video still
Counting One to Four: Nature morte was exhibited as part of the Art + Climate = Change 2015 festival in Melbourne and as part of ARTCOP21 in Paris at Galerie Prodromus, Federation Square, Melbourne and in New York.
Exhibition History for Counting One to Four: Nature morte.
Atmosphere, Linden New Art, St Kilda, Part of the Art+Climate=Change 2015 program managed by Climarte.
Planetary – A View From the Cloud, Counting One to Four: Nature morte, Streaming Museum and World Council of Peoples for the United Nations. Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York City.
ARTCOP21 Galerie Prodromus, Paris and Federation Square, Melbourne curated by CLIMARTE
CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy
Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, Finalist, South Australian Museum, SA
Melbourne Central Art Loop curated by [MARS] Gallery, Melbourne