Rising temperatures across the globe and a tremendous loss of biodiversity have brought our planet to the brink of collapse. This series of drawings outlines the actions necessary to achieve a future worth living. Some of these, such as the unsealing of concrete, respond to the need to repair ecological damage. We see trees being planted where streets had once sealed the soil. Several drawings show acts of civil disobedience: barricaded highways, forests occupied for protection, defensive architecture built to delay police operations. Some drawings single out unnecessary luxury emissions: a private jet is prevented from taking off, a strike shuts down a sports car manufacturer. Others focus on disrupting new climate-destroying infrastructures such as pipelines and false “solutions” such as liquified natural gas, which according to new studies has an even worse impact on the climate than lignite coal, the most polluting of all conventional fossil fuels.

Contours of the Coming World playfully draws the outlines (contours) of the collective action needed. If these outlines remind us of children’s colouring books, that is because the coming generations will suffer most from today’s governmental inaction. Considered separately, none of these interventions will avert climate breakdown. Only the combined power of thousands of collective actions can decarbonize our global economy and achieve climate justice.

Additional information: Exhibition brochure Living Investment Risk, 2024 (PDF)

→ Oliver Ressler

→ Claudia Schioppa