Tomorrow Land, 2011
Tomorrow Land is an environmental artwork by Australian artist Debbie Symons examining ecological change in Antarctica, focusing on ocean warming, acidification, and the impact of industrial fishing on fragile marine systems.
The work explores the rapid transformation of Antarctic environments under the pressures of climate change and human activity. Increasing ocean temperatures and rising acidity are altering the chemical and biological balance of the Southern Ocean, affecting species at every level of the food chain.
Central to the work is the relationship between environmental change and extraction. Industrial fishing practices, combined with shifting ocean conditions, place additional strain on already vulnerable ecosystems, disrupting the delicate interdependence between species.
Through visualisation, Tomorrow Land reflects on how these overlapping forces—warming waters, acidification, and resource exploitation—are reshaping one of the Earth’s most remote and ecologically significant regions.
Positioned within Symons’ broader research-based practice, the work connects Antarctic change to global systems of consumption and environmental impact. It invites viewers to consider the future of these ecosystems as the boundaries between natural and human-driven processes continue to dissolve.
Tomorrow Land and Tracking (Antarctica) were exhibited as part of the Life Support Systems – Making Sense of the Earth’s Ecologies exhibition at Craft Victoria in 2011.
Tomorrow Land investigates the pressures on species as the Southern Ocean continues to warm, with some species destined to reach their physiological and ecological limits within the coming decades. Each of the 6 drawers of the old wooden chest contains a drawing that examines the pressures on native species that rely on the waters surrounding Antarctica for survival.
Drawer one – The Bounty of the Sea (2008 Fishing and Whaling), 2011. Water colour and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm
Drawer two – Climate Changes Evil Twin (Acidification), 2011. Water colour and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm
Drawer 3 – Geopolitics (Alien non-indigenous species), 2011. Water colour and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm
Drawer 4 – Thermoception (Surface Temperature), 2011. Water colour and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm
Drawer 5 – Increasing Forces (Stratospheric Ozone), 2011. Graphite and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm
Drawer 6 – Tomorrow Land (Species), 2011. Vinyl lettering on Perspex and pencil on paper. 685 x 1000mm