Morgan Possberg

Eating the sun

During this residency I will be trying to understand the language used in the climate papers, G10 climate meetings, Kyoto accord, climate summits, and government declarations regarding climate change. Perhaps they do more harm than good…. ? When something is only half heartedly spoken about, with no concrete measurable actions that actually meet our CO2 requirements, it's hard to believe that there is any positive effect at all. I will need to sort through a lot of governmental autocratic language to get to the truth and heart of the matter.

I will start by reading and visually mapping the language. The language will then be juxtaposed with the reality; the actual science and outcomes of these papers, meetings, summits. How can we humanize this process, how can we move through all these feelings about the lack of our government and corporations meaningful action on climate change without succumbing to climate dread and apathy? How can we continue to care when we have mountains of data that our governments refuse to take meaningful action on? How can I as an individual continue to care, when Oil companies knew about climate change in the 1980’s and hid it from us? And the classic but true meme; how can I be expected to take action as an individual such as using paper straws when oil companies are allowed to dump millions of liters of oil into the golf of Mexico with minimal repercussions?

I have named this process “Eating the sun” for many reasons; many cultures including my own have folklore about trickster characters eating the sun or attacking the sun out of an act of hubris. I think the governments and corporations are acting in such a way; acting in whatever way they want without regard for others, daring to eat the sun when it would put the rest of us in darkness. I also believe that myself as an artist researcher going down this rabbit hole is also an act of hubris similar to eating the sun. To think that I could potentially challenge an oil company, or a government through arts and crafts…..? Reading this data, and trying to make sense of it will be like trying to drink from a firehose, or also as crazy an act as eating the sun. I’ll try to find some really strong sunscreen.