Our flags won’t save us (Japan)

Jesmonite Resin/Acrylic Paint

12.5cm (h) x 13cm (w) x 18cm (d)

£495

There are certain issues that we currently face that can’t be resolved on a purely national level. The most pressing of these is climate change but as became clear during the creation of these pieces, disease on a globally infectious scale is another.

It is obvious that for any single nation to reach the necessary carbon reduction targets is meaningless without the rest of the planet meeting theirs (and for a ‘level playing field’ to be achieved, this will necessarily be different for each nation). Although this has long been understood, the responses to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement and the G7 summits continue to fall short of the required targets if we are to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.

These sculptures were created in light of the imminent COP26 conference (at the time of writing scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November 2021). I only hope that the severity of the situation will this time be met with the political will to take the necessary steps globally. Given the current political climate, the disinformation and denial, along with the seemingly unconstrained influence of commercial interests, I wish I could say I was more optimistic than I am.