A number of interdisciplinary artists voiced their concern for the current environmental condition through an exhibition titled 30×30 at Taman Budaya Jawa Barat, Bandung on 7 March.
2030 is predicted to be the limit of natural tolerance for human behaviour. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that we only have years left to save the earth from destruction. Global warming above 1,5 degrees Celcius is at risk of giving birth to extreme heat, severe drought, flooding caused by extreme rainfall and melting of ice caps in the Arctic that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
In Indonesia, similar disasters are also predicted to occur. Ancol, the coast of Jakarta is slowly rising to engulf more land. Similarly, Tanah Abang area is predicted to be submerged in seawater by up to 50 centimetres. Also, in Java island, environmental damage in watersheds and misuse land function has driven clean water supply increasingly scarce. However, this is considered by many to be utopian, considering that current government policies do not show good faith to meet environmental conservation targets.
A painting exhibition named 30×30 which was previously held in November last year at Marto Art Center, Jakarta, returns to Bandung, West Java to carry the same spirit and message about the importance of taking care of the earth immediately through artworks. Organised by Kilau Art Studio, the exhibition this time will be enlivened by 100 artists from seven countries; Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, United States of America, German, New Zealand and Lithuania.
“The exhibition aims to ignite massive movements considering gravity of the issue. The exhibition is also a concrete proof of the artists’ concern regarding environmental sustainability and accompanying issues. We hoped that the works displayed can arouse the public and the government tackle the challenge of environmental sustainability in the coming 2030. We can’t contribute directly but through this exhibition we hope that the community can encourage public policy makers to make more pro-environmental sustainability policies,” Saepul Bahri from Kilau Art Studio explained the purpose of the exhibition.
Multi-genre artists will cover various themes, such as Annisa Nur Ratnasari with her painting Slow Down Please… depicting fashion waste with fast fashion junkie facial expressions and Alam & Manusia (Nature and Humans) by Irwan Idris that reflects the relationship of humans as the most dominant creature on Earth, and nature. The issue about forest destruction will be represented by A. Zaki Hadri through Forest Concrete.
