A Reflection on “Future: Evergreener”

With “Future: Evergreener, From Destruction to Abundance” ending, it’s important to reflect on its message and continue the conversation it sparked. 

Earlier this February, the Julio Fine Arts Gallery held a panel discussion for this exhibition. The exhibition intended to be a talk between art, climate change, and what people can do to make a difference. These are similar discussions held in the book Not Too Late, edited by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young-Lutunatabua. The book itself is a collection of different contributors from various fields like climate scientists, lawyers, and poets that all work to reframe the reader’s perspective on the climate crisis. 

When the artists were asked, “Why is it ‘not too late’?” Jowita Wyszomirska responded with, “We control nothing but influence everything.” This sentiment was echoed when alumni,  Eileen Wold, answered to the subsequent question of “What does/can art do that is specifically unique to art to address the climate crisis?” with “We’re culture producers.”

The art presented in this exhibition showed the relationship between human life and the earth as well; illuminating how art can confront our own habits with pieces like the “Square Meter” that breaks down much oil we burn. This confrontation can even be seen when the artists explained their process for making pieces. Wyszomirska, Maggie Gourlay, and Andrea Sherill Evans worked with plants as materials like eco-printing and using plants’ pigment as a natural dye. Even at the most simplest level, plants and the earth have a variety of uses, and we can challenge the ways we learned how to create by experimenting with alternative materials. 

CJ Laux, one of the 2024 Museum Studies class students, said it best in response to the question mentioned earlier, “Why is it ‘not too late’?”: The reply was simple, in that it’s not too late when we resist the attempts made to make us feel hopeless. 

Conversations that began from the exhibition do not end when the gallery changes its art. They are also not meant to just be discussions. They are ongoing and meant to lead to action. It can be as small as walking more, helping pluck invasive plant species, or spending time to learn about eco-printing and sharing it with friends through a craft night. No matter what the news, corporations, or politicians tell you, there is still time.