Tara Nicholson | Mammoths, EcoZombies and Permafrost Extinction
Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art 103-421 Cawston Ave, Rotary Centre for the Arts, Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 6Z1
Tara Nicholson, “Permafrost Core, Whitehorse, Yukon,” no date
lightbox, 36" x 24" (courtesy of the artist)
Opening Feb 7 from 6:00-8:00 PM
Tara Nicholson // Mammoths, EcoZombies and Permafrost Extinction
This exhibition endeavours to depict a polar ecosystem warming at a rate of 3-7 times faster than other landmasses. From this perspective, the Arctic can be seen as a microcosm of climate breakdown, where the accelerating effects of climate breakdown are already visible within its human and nonhuman animal ways of life. Arctic amplification or a quickened state of warming, will produce increases in extreme weather, altering animal migration and causing widespread habitat loss. Reflecting on permafrost, extinction and “eco-zombies,” the term attached to climate techno-fixes like (de)extinction and geoengineering, this exhibition looks to re-characterize “frozen life” as something increasingly valuable. Examining the fleeting nature of the Arctic, Nicholson questions the unseen realities of climate collapse to envision a post-anthropocentric representation of the Arctic.The exhibition will feature framed photographs, lightboxes, and ceramic tusk installations.