For years, artist Zaria Forman has been traveling to the world’s most environmentally endangered areas to keep a visual record of landscapes greatly impacted by climate change. She draws inspiration from her travels to create stunning, large-scale pastel drawings of the awe-inspiring views. This includes the melting of Arctic icebergs and rising sea levels slowly submerging flat lands like the Maldives.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the depleting state of the Earth, she documents the world as it is today, hoping to spark a movement towards more eco-friendly practices. “I’m trying to turn scientists’ warnings and statistics into a more accessible medium,” she explains, “and hopefully it inspires people to make an impact in their own lives, no matter how big or small that may be– whether they turn the air conditioning down or make sure the water is not left running.”
Thus far, Forman has journeyed to Greenland, Svalbard, and the Maldives, recreating their separate yet equally powerful images across enormous canvases and using a portion of proceeds from the sales of her art to support 350.org (an organization dedicated to raising awareness and promoting ecologically safe action regarding climate change). In an email, she tells us: “I am heading down in November/December to South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula for a five week art residency aboard the National Geographic Explorer. My intentions are to gather material and inspiration to create a body of work that describes the Antarctic landscape and in particular the melting ice. I will compare the Southern ice to what I have witnessed of it’s Northern counterpart in Greenland and Svalbard. Ultimately, the drawings will serve as ‘ice portraits’, continuing my work of documenting Earth’s shifting landscapes due to the effects of climate change.”
About a dozen of Forman’s incredible creations will be on display in a solo show called SLIP. Amongst the work inspired by her expeditions, the artist will be including drawings of Hawaii’s coast and Antarctica’s glaciers. “The two drawings of Antarctica in this new body of work are, in a way, preliminary studies for this upcoming expedition,” she tells us. “My good friend, exceptional multi-media artist, and Polar explorer/world traveler Todd Murphy graciously let me peruse thousands of his photographs of Antarctica and Svalbard, a few of which I referenced to create Svalbard no. 33, Lemaire Chanel, Antarctica, and Deception Island, Antarctica.”
SLIP opens tonight at Winston Wchter Fine Art in New York and will run through October 17, 2015.
Above photo by Brian Maranan Pineda, Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Photo by Quinn Miller Bedell
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Photo by Quinn Miller Bedell
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
?Deception Island, Antarctica,? 72″ x 128″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Greenland #72, 60″ x 60″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2014
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
?Svalbard #33,? 60″ x 90″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2014
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
?Greenland #71, 50″ x 60″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2014
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Lemaire Channel, Antarctica,? 44″ x 60″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
M?aldives #13,? 72″ x 127.5″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
M?aldives #15,? 40″ x 65″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
M?aldives #14,? 60″ x 90″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Waipi’o Valley, Hawaii, 30″ x 45″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Waipi’o Valley, Hawaii no. 2, 44″ x 60″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2015
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Greenland #73, 64″ x 60″, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2014
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Photo by Trevor Traynor
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman
Zaria Forman: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Zaria Forman.