36" diameter circle, 0.75" depth
This artwork depicts the northern hemisphere of Mars. Certain billionaires dream of colonizing this place, as their unsustainable level of consumption makes Earth unlivable. Mars 2888 Northern Plains shows that the grass isn’t greener away from Earth—there simply isn’t grass. Making Mars habitable is not possible for all of Earth’s people and would worsen the current injustices of the climate crisis.
My work interprets maps of other planets using colors from different imaging techniques. My landscapes use aerial perspectives so that the viewer meets the planet face-to-face. Landscapes are active places. Should climate catastrophes worsen, Earth will go on in new ways whether we’re here or not. A lifeless Mars could be climate we inherit.
I created this piece on fluorescent green acrylic with painted acrylic ink on the back and acrylic paint on the front. The map and the terrain are aligned, but the acrylic sheet visibly separates the two layers. No human has stepped on Mars, so we do not have the intimate knowledge of it on foot. The information and the experience do not touch. This artwork embodies many truths at once: we can be optimistic about interplanetary discovery, and realistic about protecting Earth’s future.