Trade, 2014
Trade examines the impact of commodities produced for international markets on biodiversity, focusing on three countries most affected by export-driven ecological pressure: Indonesia, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.
The work draws on data from the Eora MRIO (Multi-Region Input–Output) database, which maps the global economic drivers of biodiversity loss. Through this framework, Trade visualises the relationship between international trade and environmental degradation.
As of 2011, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, accounted for a combined total of 865 species threatened as a result of export-related activity. The primary importers contributing to these biodiversity impacts were the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
By tracing these global supply chains, the work reveals the uneven distribution of environmental responsibility, highlighting how consumption in developed economies is directly linked to biodiversity loss in ecologically vulnerable regions.
Exhibition history for Trade, 2014
The Incinerator Art Award – Art for Social Change, Incinerator Gallery, Moonee Ponds
Trade, Linden Innovators 2, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, St Kilda
Debbie Symons is an Australian environmental artist whose work explores climate change, biodiversity loss, and global ecological systems through data-driven practice.