Time Magazine April 2006 cover issued a warning in a special report, everyone read it & no-one listened

Author: Distil Ennui | Post Date: 06-12-2022

Back in 2006 Time Magazine stated that..... 'Earth is at the Tipping Point: Global Warming Heats Up. Polar Ice Caps Are Melting Faster Than Ever... More And More Land Is Being Devastated By Drought... Rising Waters Are Drowning Low-Lying Communities...'

time magazine global warming cover april 2006

Since that publication date, global warming twinned with other human activity is disrupting the biological world in profound ways, pushing many species to the brink of extinction while turning others into runaway pests. But the worst is yet to come, and yet we still have our foot on the gas speeding towards the cliff edge.

free diving to clean the coral reefs of the maldives

At a very early stage I stated in my artist manifesto….

‘The greatest threat to our planet, is that we all think someone else will save it.

I feel compelled in attempting to face a global issue on a personal scale'

I understand the complexities of the subject, but seeing the poor decisions of policy makers twinned with corporate entities choosing profits with the environment as an afterthought; over the past 40 years you can understand my frustration. I am a simple artist with limited resources but with a lifelong determination that has never diminished. Here are some of the projects I have been able to work on so as to have a deeper understanding of the problem. My intention is to reinforce a belief that society is in need of a spiritual re-awakening with nature and of how we can all make small changes for the better.

<< Support these projects & collect art on Patreon.com/SustainableArt/About

1985/86 Over a period of nine months I sea kayaked from north to south of the Maldivian atolls, giving away over 250 aluminium can crushers with stickers & information leaflets to suggest the benefits of tourists taking away with them the imported rubbish created during their holiday. If you drink a can of beer for example with your meal, then as your bill arrives at the table so also does the crushed can. Taking it home with you in your luggage, where aluminium recycling is more accessible seemed to me the only viable solution as there were no such facilities in these remote islands. For years the Maldives has simply buried their rubbish including aluminium, unaware that it takes 20 times the amount of energy to create virgin can rather than recycling those currently in circulation. Aluminium is one of the few materials that can go through this process an almost unlimited number of times with no quality issues or degradation for either the same drinks industry. It was as clear then as it is now, It is insanity to create a packaging item with all the associated carbon emissions simply dump it after a single use.

1990 Formed the studio & trademarked the brand, committing to total green policies which included administered footprint management, studio waste solutions, green energy sources, water recycling policies and zero single use packaging. Declaring myself a advocate of the 3R Strategy. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.

1992 Created ‘Jet’ a series of organically shaped turbines carved into slabs of marble and placed in the chalk streams of Kent; the projects aim was to highlight industrial encroachment on these important waterways by creating a non invasive sculpture to engage the public into the debate of their protection.

1993 Created ‘Defluxio’ a series of water deviation plinths in Los Angeles water causeways highlighting the impact city planners have on natural water flow & dispersion in the environment.

1995 Designed and fabricated 500 solar stills, a simple but life saving design that converts ocean water into fresh drinking water using only the sun. I spent a year hand distributing them amongst nomadic ocean inhabitants from the Maldives to Indonesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, & the Solomon Islands.

1996 Started the first of what is now a yearly artist residency program, where artists are invited into the studio to discover the processes of recycling materials for use in their process. This includes plastic shredding, extrusion processes and metal foundry work showing how to cast liquid metals using only simple tools to create engineering grade designs. To date over 400 artists have benefited from this program and every year the project develops further, the aim is to create an army of artist recyclers to go out into the world and seed this knowledge into their own projects.

‘Ptolemy’
from 'Oil + Water’ 2014-2015

2013 Created the series 'Oil + Water’ in a Siberian winter studio on the frozen ice flow of the Yenesei River, these works highlight my ongoing water pollution concerns. This series was shortlisted for environmental photographer of the year 2015.

2017 For a second time I kayaked the Maldives but this time reversing the journey travelling from the south to north atolls; again this was an unsupported expedition, creating my own transport, water, communications power and sustenance using the environment alone using non-invasive 'zero footprint' techniques. In doing so I created ‘Visions from the shoreline’ a collection of letters, installation sculptural works and PhotoGrams re-visiting the exact same locations I visited back in the mid 80’s. Retrieving plastic and other foreign materials from the coral reef while free diving and using only these materials to create the collection of artworks. 150 hand written letters were also posted to leading journalists, politicians and environmentalists to promote the clean ocean vision that I have always tirelessly worked for.

2018 donated 20 framed artworks with a value of over £100,000 to the Soneva Namoona Foundation to finance a carbon neutral plastic & aluminium recycling facility.

2018 presented my vision to the Presidency of the Maldives & EPA at the Plastic Free Maldives Workshop to bring about policy change.

2019 Collaborating with the Canary Wharf Corporation to present 'Breaking The Plastic Habit’ with a site specific installation of artworks from 'Visions from the shoreline' exhibited in Londons Canary Wharf, Crossrail project designed by Sir Norman Foster.

2020 Opened the exhibition ‘Renaciendo’ focused on creating within the 3R strategy framework. The project included creating a complex museum standard lighting system from land fill sourced aluminium waste. The aim was to restore to the public & light this architectural jewel, the last to remain standing baroque Convento de los Carmelitas in Spain, dating from 1688. The exhibition included large scale works & sculptures made from land fill rubbish and the critically acclaimed ‘Visions from the shoreline’ PhotoGram series created from marine waste in the Maldives.

internal view of 'Renaciendo'

2020 Created a new body of work to coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident. The series titles ‘Fusion' references contemporary environmental concerns visualising the destruction and havoc we as a species are inflicting on the oceans and our planet. This series was started in 2010 as a direct protest at the BP Oil disaster where 5 million barrels of oil poured into the Golf of Mexico 20th April 2010. The gusher that was left behind after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank is still leaking to this date.

‘Untitled Plate 8080’
from ‘Fusion' 2010-2020

2021 Plan & oversee the building implementation of 'Makers Place' a new plastic and aluminium recycling facility in the Maldives conceived and designed to handle imported drinks industry waste by up-cycling them into functional materials. Working with the team at Soneva I planned, designed & built an island based methodology for this recycling process with minimal environmental impact.

'Makers Place' plastic and aluminium recycling studio setup in the Maldives in 2021

2022 Returning to the exact same sites in Siberia from the project 'Oil & Water' using 'Empirical research and evidence' to document climate changes effect on the forests and rivers of this remote location.

'Empirical research & evidence' dated 2022

2023 Working with the island council leaders & the elected government of Noonu Atoll, Maldives. A new community plastic & aluminium recycling facility breaks ground very soon, this will be modelled around the original Makers Place.

If you would like to view in depth supporting materials relating to any of the above projects, please just ask.

I hope you found this journal entry informative, please stay connected.

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