A project of speculative mapping and audio art about sea level rise in the Mediterranean: Link
Tag: 21. Century
To counter the global sea level rise, several initiatives have formed to block seas off from the global water flow. The idea behind it: If you control the global water flow, you could control the sea level locally without having to tackle the problem globally. Of course, from a political point of view, this is a case of eco-protectionism taken to the next level. It would create an unprecedented case of separatism, a whole area shutting itself off from global interdependency that is essential to what human culture is – an interdependent global network.
About these plans, one scientist from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research said: “See this as a warning. What we’re saying is: Here’s a plan, a plan we don’t want. But if we end up needing it, then it’s technically and financially feasible.”
See the article from the New York Times from 2020.
In the final episode of the Sci Fi series “Stargate Atlantis” the city vessel Atlantis eventually lands in the San Francisco bay. Atlantis here is a city that can both fly in outerspace and float on water.
This is the city plan according to one Stargate Wiki:
Atlantis in Dubai
Atlantis on the Bahamas
Atlantis in Sanya, China
All three images are from the sites of the Atlantis hotel group: https://www.atlantis.com/
In Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel “New York 2140” the flooded New York has all the big city charm and dazzle and fascination it ever had: “From here, the flooded Lower Manhatten lies at their feet like a Super-Venice, awe-inspiring, water-glistening, grand. Their city.”
It’ all there: the skyscrapers, the business people, the bars, but everything is seaside. And sea level rise is the big bet at the stock market.
Artist Carole Alden led the design and creation of this 30-foot floating sculpture, working primarily with salvaged materials. The sculpture swam in the Bayou St. John in New Orleans in August 2019 and is now on display at The Green Project. Find out more here. A projet by Blue House, Civic Studio with Water Leaders Institute.
USA; 21. Century; Christian; Visual Art, Sculpture; City: New Orleans
One of many images from the “World Stress Painting” series Dutch visual artist Olphaer den Otter began in 2019. He calls it: “A never-ending series that lends visual interpretation to the four elements, made by human intervention into catastrophes. A catalogue of beauty without well-being.”
Netherlands; 21. Century; Christian; Painting
… with wall to protect the city from the creatures of the deep in the movie Pacific Rim (2013)
and now, or rather, in reality…
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USA, China; 21. Century; Christian; Movie; City: Hong Kong
In this scene from the movie “Aquaman” (2018) Atlantis sinks into the ocean. Unlike in all other disaster movies I know, the scene is pictured from a horizontal view line, not from a vertical one. The camera levels with the sea and thus we see both parts of the city: the buildings above water and the buildings below the water line.
This perspective is appropriate for Atlantis, as the city does not perish with it’s submersion but becomes what it is known for through history – and what carries the whole plot of the movie too – a fabled underwater empire.
But the camera position is also noteworthy, as it puts the viewer on the same treshold between the two elements and in a very uncomfortable place. We see the city sink while we ourselves are in the water up to our necks. The change from bird’s eye view – actually it is “plane eye” – to level view is crucial because it means leaving a superhuman and very powerful perspective up in the sky and taking on a more human but also much more involved position. In fact, it’s what a deluge would look like for most people, aas opposed to this:
USA; 21. Century; Christian; movie; City: Atlantis
There are many projects for the visualisation of the effects of rising sea levels. The US-American company Climate Central presents dozens of photo-realistic images of potentially flooded areas. Like the flooded Super Bowl Stadium in Florida:
They even offer animated gifs and other before-after-imagery. In this example a section of Hamburg in Germany now (left side) and 50 years from now (right).
A different approach is the speculative cartography by designer Jeffrey Linn. His “retrofuture” maps appear like antiques but depict future scenarios. In this case, a partially flooded San Francisco Bay. His work is for sale here
USA; 21. Century; Christian; Photography, Maps, Illustration; Cities: San Franscisco, Hamburg