In our Creative Showcase, members share a recent piece that reflects their present work, an aspect of their overall practice or a current issue of great interest or concern. As a whole, the evolving showcase gives a snapshot of what inspires and energises the ClimateCultures community, and it is open to all members.
If members contribute additional pieces for the showcase, we archive their previous contributions here so that can continue to be enjoyed. Below, you can click through to earlier works from Michael Gresalfi, Stanley Grill & Selva Ozelli — and do also explore their more recent contributions to the current Creative Showcase.
Michael Gresalfi: Invasive Flower
“My selection of a sunflower for this painting was clearly influenced by the large fields of sunflowers nearby. Just a few miles from my home in Boyds, Maryland, USA, is the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area. … This 2,000-acre tract provides habitat for upland and forest wildlife species including white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, songbirds, and waterfowl.”
Michael Gresalfi‘s vibrant painting takes a sunflower as one indication of the impacts of our growing proliferation of multiple species of visually stunning and economically valued but invasive flowers. Invasive species can grow aggressively, outcompeting native plant populations for sunlight, space and nutrients, leading to a wider decline in the wildlife that depends on them.
Michael Gresalfi: Mother’s Lament
“This painting depicts the tragic deterioration and loss of our oceans’ coral reefs since the advent of the post-industrial ‘Anthropocene era’. I have presented this science-informed vision within a three-panel view of the past, present, and possible future viability of these so-called ‘rainforests of the seas’.”Michael Gresalfi‘s painting of past, present and possible future states of our coral ecosystems – the ‘rainforests of the seas’ – points to a grim outcome if we cannot rapidly implement international strategies. He finds inspiration in the “elegant tit-for-tat” coral-algae relationship of shelter, food and, photosynthesis: “the algae also paint their coral hosts with their famous colors — the riotous colors of a reef are actually a symbol of one of the world’s oldest alliances.”
Michael Gresalfi: “What Man Has Wrought”
“As a guarded optimist, my panels present a hopeful outcome for both our species and for all life forms we share our existence with.”
Michael Gresalfi‘s seven-panel installation offers an opportunity for self-reflection, making creative use of styrofoam with melted wax, acrylics and a heat gun to reflect humanity’s darker side and visions of a world we risk if we fail to make restoring our Earth our shared priority.”
Michael Gresalfi: Our Changing Planet
“I honestly believe that our rapidly changing planet, and the ongoing climate-induced global challenges we face, can’t be solved without a greater emphasis on the creative arts.”
Michael Gresalfi‘s video presentation of his artworks with his own narration offers educators and advocates an example of personally communicating the science of climate change through a creative medium.
Stanley Grill: Remember
“After discovering Mariko Endo’s work on the Artists4Peace website, I reached out to collaborate. As we worked together on another music video, she sent me a work in progress, asking to use music from my album Remember with it. It was a wonderful coincidence that the music and video synched together perfectly.”
Stanley Grill‘s collaboration with choreographer and dancer Mariko Endo on Remember serves as a reminder of who we are by nature — part and parcel of the earth and all of the life around us.
Selva Ozelli: Celebrating Biodiversity Day
“When the director alerted me that the Museum was celebrating 1 million visitors, I asked Cecilia Lam whether I could interview her ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity…”
As well as interviewing the director of the world’s first climate change museum, Selva Ozelli prepared 12 digital art shows on green recovery from Covid-19.