On Consideration
On consideration: The #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition.
Photography works on many levels, quite different to any other art form. Some people still think photography has no place in art. Does this opinion lie in the fact that a machine makes the image, that it is ephemeral and transitory until it is used, downloaded, displayed or printed? Is the rise of film photography and camera-less photography making photography more “art-like”?
One thing is for sure is that photography is never a constant, its always changing. Does traditional photography rely on great technique and contemporary photography on a great message or concept? Maybe, but photography and digital technology have changed the way imagery is used, viewed and seen. What was once confined to two-dimensional paper is now projected onto buildings 30 metres high or used virtually and in 3D works. Historically, photography was only available for the elite and wealthy but with the changes in technology in the last 100 years has made it very democratic, something I wanted to ensure when I created The #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition.
I wanted to present photography democratically and to use it in protest of, or advocate for, one of humanities most existential crises; climate change. The ‘petition’ also aims to raise the profile of Australian women and non-binary people who make and use photography. As with any petition it requires enough people to be successful. A normal petition requires the petitioner to read, consider and agree with the premise by signing their name, once. With the #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition it requires the petitioner to read, consider and agree with the premise, to put their name to it but also to action the petition by making a photo or photos that speak that individual’s truth to power. In a way it is like citizen science where scientific organisations enrol the public to record parts of nature and upload it to a central portal for the greater good.
One person can only do so much, but one person can change the world.
So hence I created the #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition to be as egalitarian and democratic as possible.
Photography can be a lonely pursuit and something mostly done as an individual, so by creating a project that relies on community with a common goal it then becomes democratically collaborative. Currently, in Australia there is no professional industry body for photographers and so this project aims to provide a remedy that lack of community. Each image made was an individual’s response to the task, but by collating hundreds of other images and statements creates a powerfully diverse response to a common goal or issue; being the existential climate crisis we face.
Most of humanity accept climate change is a human made predicament. The #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition is a western women’s response to the patriarchal and colonial systems that have caused it.
Crowd-sourcing is something that has proliferated since social media which allows anyone to raise funds for causes. Through lots of little things, big things grow. I gave myself a year to slowly raise the profile of the #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition by only using one social media platform, Instagram. I had no money but I did have time and passion! The lockdown during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic allowed me time to build the momentum on Instagram. The Honourable Linda Burney MP launched in Canberra in February 2022 which helped to expose the idea and project into the public and political domain.
When images were submitted a selection was shared on instagram with their artist statement and demands and each women was tagged to help raise the profile of the project. It gave the petitioners ownership and help makes them feel good to be part of something bigger. I used the hashtag #everydayclimatecrisis in the title because through research it hadn’t been used much when the petition started in 2020 which then allowed followers of the hashtag to see their images easily and know they were part of a community.
The term ‘everyday’ has been used not to comment on the quality of the images submitted, but because we see evidence that our environment is changing everyday, and yet it is not ‘everyday’ that we have climate change. It was also used inclusively so that non-professional photographers and those of varying abilities were encouraged to be a part of the petition.
For me as the organiser it was truly humbling to think that people have entrusted me with their creations and this gives me much hope. Hope that humanity thrives on community and that good will come from what we are doing, even if its just in getting to know one another.
The petition aimed to inspire women and girls to use their talents and opinions in a visual manner. We all have opinions, but putting those opinions out into the public domain as a visual document challenges the viewer. You cannot argue with a photographic image or piece of art. The viewer may not like the image or question its legitimately but it presents as inconvertible proof that something happened, existed or felt. Words can have a finite meaning and interpretation and hence a signature on a petition can achieve great change. To make an image, to document a place or a feeling, to create an image in response to this crisis we face is a powerful statement by one person. It is their proof, their truth. To have hundreds of individuals create a document with over a 1200 images is powerful.
As I write this all the images and accompanying word documents sit in the cloud. Everytime I open a file on my computer, view the image/s and read the words, I am amazed at what I have created with this petition. There is so much passion out there, so much desire to change, so much anger and frustration. These emotions can be seen and felt in the images. Most images have a visceral effect on me. There is shock, despair, hope, beauty, fear and so much more represented in this project. The unique element to the whole project was that it started with our country in the grips of the worst bushfires in recorded history and concluded with the worst flooding.
The images were collated by me and prepared ready for printing. The #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition was printed in duplicate; one copy handed over to the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament and one was acquired by the National Library of Australia. The petition will also be delivered digitally.
I see the printed petition in several ways, such as
1247 images and words printed to form a pile of A4 sheets of paper approximately 30cm high.
displayed/exhibited on a plinth, much like any other objet d’art, so the viewer can walk around it, smell it and take photos of it to share on social media and pick it up.
a sculptural yet ephemeral object, susceptible to the natural ventilation of the space it inhabits, whose creations, opinions and demands from each individual only possibly revealed when each printed paper falls to the ground
an object that is tactile and has weight both literally and in its message
an object that once printed increases in size with the ink that has been applied and possesses a odour of that endeavour.
when viewed as an object the viewer can only assume that all images and word documents make a statement about the climate crisis we face, apart from the single image on the top of the pile.
And so the questions I asked myself:
Why did I choose the image of the ladybirds to be on the top of the pile?
Would I have been disappointed if any of the invited MP’s did not have the time to accept the handover on June the 9th?
Would I have been embarrassed if I am the only person there on June the 9th?
Am I proud of this achievement as it stands on this day?
What are the things I could have done to make this more representative?
Was I wrong just to include women and non-binary people only?
Will there be a need to do this again, if nothing happens?
So, am I a messenger or a representative? I was entrusted to take these visual and written submissions from hundreds of women, most of whom I do not know, to Parliament. When I started the petition, I was asked what my demands of our government will be when the petition is tabled to Parliament. I decided then that it was not up to one person to decide, hence me asking each petitioner to write their demands and submit them with their images.
The handover of the Petition was a collaborative experience on June the 9th, 2022 with some women coming to Canberra from other parts of Ausralia. The petition was tabled in Parliament July 2022 by Member for Canberra Alicia Payne.
More info and links can be seen here
Hilary Wardhaugh
0418255416
