“Climate
change provides an exceptionally clear indication that
the over-consumptive and resource intensive lifestyles of
wealthy countries are compromising the future of the global
south as well as our own unique ecosystems, human health and
infrastructure. The already occurring
experiences
of climate change are a direct indication that we need to
move to a future of sustainable energy sources and land-use
practices.
Renewable
energy and energy efficient technologies have the ability to
provide the world with our energy needs, while providing the
industrial countries of the world an opportunity to move to
a fairer share of resource use”.
MDG
8 focuses on wealthy countries doing their fair share to
alleviate poverty and to combat climate change. More
investment is needed to reduce our impact on the
environment.
One
way is to get people out of their dependence on the car by
providing us with an efficient, well connected public
transport system, such as the ‘People Plan’ devised by
Greens MLC Greg Barber.
http://mps.vic.greens.org.au/gregbarber
The
average distance traveled by car each day across Australia
is only 9km. We rely so much on our vehicles to quickly take
us to our destination and to transport the goods we have
gathered.
For
millions the world over their only means to gather
essentials such as water and wood is to use their legs and
walk, often traveling kilometres every day.
As
water sources dry up and wood supplies diminish, this daily
task will become even more arduous.
'Wiped
Out' - 2009 For
Sale
51
x 101.5 cm / $400
Oil
on canvas
'Life
Unknown' - 2009 Sold
50.5
x 76 cm
Oil
on canvas
With
the combination of higher maximum temperatures and
evaporation rates, along with possible reductions in annual
rainfall, there is an increased likelihood of wildfires
occurring the world over.
We
saw how devastating they can be in the Amazon a few years
ago. If fires continue to destroy this crucial area, we not
only loose a valuable carbon sink, but for the Native
Indigenous Indians they stand to loose their very existence.
Their whole identity is so entwined with the forest. If it
goes, then I fear these civilisations will go as well.
Bangladesh
is already an extremely poor and vulnerable country. With
predicted increases in extreme weather events, economic and
food security only raises the uncertainly life holds for
millions.
With
predicted increasing sea levels, Bangladesh could eventually
be no more.
Climate Wanderers’
- 2009
Sold
91.5 cm x 30.5 cm
Oil on
canvas
'Going,
Going, Gone' - 2009 For Sale
38
x 76 cm
/ $400
Oil
on canvas
People
move when they can no longer sustain themselves. Climate
change will jeopardize food and water security, health and
sanitation, income generation opportunities and
infrastructure, leaving people with little choice but to
relocate.
It
is estimated that over 250 million people will become
environmental refugees by 2050.
Climate
change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and
species loss. With every increase in global temperature,
more and more species will become extinct such as the marine
turtle, the Murray cod, orangutans and ginseng, as the
relief shows.
The
poor are more vulnerable because they are more dependant on
natural resources and have lower capacity to cope.
BELOW:
The
thumbnail images show how the pictures looked prior to
weaving.
'Life
Begins' - 2008
Sold
35.5
x 45.5 cm
Oil
on canvas
We
all start the same way with sperm meeting egg, the two
different realities of the male and female merge together to
create life. But where we are born impacts greatly on the
life we will live.
In
Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia, the number of people going
hungry is increasing.
MDG
1 aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
'Life
grows' - 2008 For
Sale
35.5
x 45.5 cm / $300
Oil
on canvas
The
unborn child's reality starts to develop, reliant upon yet
distinct from its mother. Where a mother gives birth
matters.
"Of
all health indicators, maternal mortality reveals the
greatest gap between rich and poor women, both between and
within countries. Each year 536 000 women die from
complications of pregnancy and childbirth - 99% in the
developing world"
(Report,
Delivering for Women, Oct 2007)
MDG
5 aims to reduce by three-quarters the number of women who die giving
birth.
'Life
Divides' -
2008 For
Sale
35.5
x 45.5 cm / $300
Oil
on canvas
Where
a child is born and what sex it is matters.
"Everyday
on average, more than 26 000 children under age five die
around the world, mostly from preventable causes. Nearly all
of them live in the developing regions"
"Women
and girls are deprived of equal access to resources,
opportunities and political power in every region of the
world".
(The
State Of the World's Children, UNICEF, Jan 2008)
MDG
3 has as a target, to eliminate gender disparity in all
levels of education by 2015.
MDG
4 aims to reduce by 2/3 the under five mortality rate by
2015
'We
need trees' -
2008 Sold
35.5
x 45.5 cm
Oil
on canvas
The
two realities of God's magnificent design found in this
tree and the deforestation that is occurring the world over
are contrasted here.
Forests
are important to us, they capture and absorb the carbon in
the atmosphere. By logging these old growth forests we are
contributing to climate change.
Not
all the picture is woven, showing that there is still hope
in halting climate change beyond irreparable damage. But we
must curtail such practices of logging old growth forests.
MDG
7 has as 1 of its targets, to integrate the principles of
sustainable development into country policies and programmes
and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
'Water
Ways' -
2008 Sold
40.5
x50.5 cm
Oil
on canvas
The
two realities of abundant water and species are contrasted
with a drought affected river bed.
"The
proportion of species threatened with extinction continues
to increase, and individual populations continue to
decline...The world's fisheries are at particular
risk... Currently, only 22% of the world's fisheries are
sustainable, compared to 40% in 1975".
(Millennium
Development Goals Report 2007 )
Once
again the unwoven section leaves open the hope that the
threat to the environment will be reduced by achieving MDG
7.
'Land
for Living' -
2008 Sold
40.5
x50.5 cm
Oil
on canvas
"At
the current rate of carbon emissions, global average
temperatures will rise by 2 degrees by 2050. Once temperature
increases rise above 2 degrees, up to 4 billion people could be
experiencing growing water shortages. Agriculture could
cease to be viable in parts of the world, particularly the
tropics, and millions more people will risk hunger".
(Two
degrees, one chance, Tearfund UK, 2007)
Drought
sets in and land that was once arable becomes unable to be
ploughed. It will be the poor who will be affected the first
and the most by climate change.
The
unwoven section points to the hope of MDG 7 (to ensure
environmental sustainability).
'Free
to Learn' -
2008 For
Sale
61x76
cm / $400
Acrylic
on canvas
This
school in Tanzania held it's lesson under a tree due to
the previous years rain season washing away the mud brick
buildings.
The
quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu says:
"Dream
with me my dream. Dream with me my dream of a new kind of
world. For us to eradicate poverty. It is possible. . .Why do
we spend billions on instruments of destruction when we
could ensure that children, children everywhere in the
world, could have a good education? Please, please help me,
help me to realize my dream".
(The
19th
Annual National Service Learning Conference in Minneapolis,
April 2008)
MDG
2 aims to ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and
girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of
primary schooling.
'The
House of Partnership'
-
2008 Commissioned
156
cm x 62.5 cm
Oil
on canvas
The
outline of Parliament House is filled in with various scenes
of living conditions experienced by many people throughout
the developing world. The decisions made in 'our house'
have consequences for millions of households the world over. Australia's commitment to the
Millennium Development Goals is vital if we are to seek to
address the injustice and inequality that currently
prevails.
The
scenes depicted show Tanzanian women waiting in line for
their buckets to be filled with water; an Internally
Displaced People's camp in East Timor, the occurrence of
which will be an even greater reality with the impacts of
climate change on poor communities; children on the streets
of Ecuador earning a living shining shoes rather than
attending school; an African woman cooking inside her
unventilated hut, and a slum in Mumbai showing poor water
and sanitation conditions.
No
one should have to live under these conditions.
References
for 2 of the scenes from this painting were derived from
photographs by Chris Garris and Jonas Bendiksen. To view
Chris' work click here.
To view Jonas' click here.
'The
New Exodus' -2008
For
Sale
50.5
x 76 cm / $300
Acrylic
on canvas collage
The
word 'exodus' means departure and for the prophet of
Isaiah chapters 40-55 this is a prominent theme. There are
many familiarities in these 15 chapters to the first exodus
Israel experienced. There is a reference to Moses striking
the rock and water rushing out; Yahweh going before and
after Israel in a pillar of cloud and fire. But this exodus
would be more glorious than the first. The wilderness will
be transformed and Yahweh's glory would now be seen by 'all flesh'. The prophet reminds us of our future hope
of a new creation that supersedes the original one. Under
Yahweh's control history is heading somewhere, life has
purpose and direction. With the ascension of Christ, the
Holy Spirit now dwells in our hearts.
This
painting points to the hope of the 8 Millennium Development
Goals. If these goals are genuinely adhered to by our world
leaders, then a great departure will have occurred and many
who face bondage will be set free. Micah Challenge calls on
Christians everywhere to seek the heart of God on this
issue. To not just pray and spiritualise the bondage that
people face, but to recognise that the bible is full of
references to active engagement, whether in word or deed. We
are to follow in the words of the prophets of old who
pleaded on behalf of the poor and oppressed. Now is our
moment in history to speak out on injustices and to hold our
politicians accountable to the promises they made in 2000 to
make poverty history.
T''Telling Tears'
- 2007For
Sale
45.5 x 91.5 cm
/$450.00
Oil on canvas
A
woman mourns the
death of her child. One of the 6000 children that die every
day due to using a dirty water supply. In a world of surplus
resources and wealth, how long will it take the rich to
respond to the desperate need that many people face? The
desperate need for the bare necessities of life such as
water.
'On
the Inside'
- 2007 Sold
34
cm x 42 cm
X-ray
framed
Humanity
is all linked; we don't live in isolation. Our actions
here in Australiahave consequences the
world over. There may only be six degrees that separate each
one of us. This means we could all have only six links to
every person who has died from exploitation, who is
desperately hungry, who is enslaved, and who feels hopeless
and alone. How long before we respond and treat our
neighbour as our self?
'No Choice'
- 2007
For Sale
76 cm x 76 cm / $300.00
Acrylic on canvas
No
one chooses where they are born.
No
one chooses to be born female in a world that favours the
male.
No
one chooses to be born into poverty or be shackled by its
consequences.
No
one chooses to die an infant from diseases that are easily
cured.
But
the world has a choice in its response to these things
'20/20'
- 2006
Sold
Acrylic on canvas collage
At the centre is the beginning
of life - where sperm meets egg. We all start the same way, and have no
control over where we are born. We all feel sad, happy, angry, ashamed etc. and we
are all made in the image of God. I have chosen to depict God's presence
as yellow dots which symbolise the fire that led Israel in the
Exodus story.
The
next circle shows that although all humanity is created equal, the reality of life is far from this. The fabric represents the 3
poorest regions of the world - Africa, Asia and Latin America. Although
they produce a substantial amount of the world's resources they don't
share proportionately in the profits. Interspersed between the fabric are
images of the things that bind us to this inequality. Faceless billions
live under US$2 a day and are chained to
poverty because others are chained by greed and the love of money. Poor
countries are not free to trade on a level playing field because rules of international
trade are rigged to benefit the already rich and affluent countries.
The
world's resources are symbolised by black oil, coffee beans, pumpkin
seeds and gold and silver. There is enough food and resources for everyone
yet these are not equally shared.
The
outer circle is both a rainbow representing mankind's covenantal relationship
with God, and also the 5 societal quintiles. The red circle is the richest
20% of the population who consume 86% of the world's resources. The purple circle represents the poorest 20% who consume just 1.3% of
those resources.
'The
Psalms' -2006
Acrylic
on canvas collage
This
work of art is my attempt to address the theology of
the book of Psalms. At
the core of the psalms is 'the great
king over all', the maker of heaven and earth.
I've chosen
to epitomise God's presence as a pillar of fire.
Yellow
dots also denote God's presence, which ventures into
the heavens. The
black dots represent evil spirits, showing
the
spiritual battle that exists between good and evil,
which surrounds each nation and the earth. Those
who fear
the Lord
can take comfort in both God's strength
to
oppose
the enemy (shown by the ram's horn) and God's tender
loving protection (expressed by the wing). People
of
all races and ages can confidently come before God's presence in honest communication of their feelings,
whether
this is anger, hopefulness, sadness or praise.
The
special relationship between God and humankind is shown
in the covenants that surround the earth. The Noaiccovenant
portrayed by a rainbow; the Abrahamic, signifying that
his seed will multiply and be a blessing to all
the nations; the Mosaic covenant conveyed by the 2 stone
tablets; the Davidic covenant which is expressed by
the crown, denoting the royal line which was
established
through him; and finally the crown of thorns encircles
David's crown showing that in Jesus, the royal line
found its fulfillment. With Jesus' death a new
and eternal
covenant has been established and will find its fruition
when he comes again.The crown of thorns is surrounded by precious stones
glistening in the darkness because
our life here on earth is not the end of
the story. Eternity awaits us. Revelation 21 describes how
the New Jerusalem in the future kingdom of God
will
be adorned with gold and all kinds of precious stones.
'St
Martin's - Wheel of Life' -
2005
Acrylic
on canvas collage
Christ
is at the centre of our life. The black cross
represents
the darkness and separation that sin
causes
and the red Scripture on it, not only reflects Christ's
blood that was shed for us, but alsoversesthat
speak about why Christ had to die. In the first circle
the white background shows that we have been cleansed
of our sins and made pure in God's eyes.
As
we look at the cross we see ourselvesin
the
mirror
pieces and are reminded
that Christ died
for
us. It is not a solid piece of mirror but many
pieces.
We are a community of broken people who together, and
individually, reflect the image of God.
The
circle of hands shows that we are a diverse
community
of people from different races and
ages.
The hands touch and support each other
as
we reach
out into the world around us. With
handsreaching
outward we show love, justice,
nurture
and acceptance through the roughness andgrittiness
of life.
In between each word there are
four
things that typify who we are as a community
-
we welcome fringe cultures;we
're like an open
fire,
messy but warm; we
're like teddy
bear, scruffybut
well loved; and we're down to earth.
The
last circle the buildings represent where we, as
a
community and
individually, reach out. Precious
stones
glisten in the darkness because our life here
on
earth is not the end of the story. These
precious
jewels also radiate from the cross and
encircle
each section. With Christ as our centre
and
through the Holy Spirit working in our lives, the kingdom of
God is already present and radiates within us and
through us into the wider world.
'Flowers in focus' -
1999 Sold
Oil
on canvas
'Awaken'
- 1999
Sold
46 x 35.5 cm
Oil on
canvas
'New
Exodus' - 1996
Sold
Oil
on canvas
This artwork is based on the new exodus theme in the
book of Isaiah chapters 40-55. It was produced as
a class assignment at Bible College.
ALL
IMAGES
copyright
The Artist. Other than fair and reasonable use for the purposes of private
study, research, criticism or review permitted under the Copyright Act, no image
or part thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior written
permission from the artist.
