Prescient Surfaces
An Exhibition at Ryniker-Morrison Gallery
Prescient Surfaces was Atlantika Collective’s exhibition on the climate crisis at Ryniker-Morrison Gallery at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. The exhibit was on view from January 12 to 28, 2022. It included artwork by many Atlantika Collective members who take a special interest in environmental issues, an interactive space for writing questions and answers on a wall outside the gallery, and an online panel discussion with Montana environmentalists, international climate experts, and curators called Breaking the Surface. An in-depth catalog including a curatorial essay by María Alejandra Sáenz is available here. Prescient Surfaces was the first of three exhibitions by Atlantika Collective on the climate crisis. Please be sure to also visit our page for the second exhibition, Approaching Event Horizons, on view from August 24 to October 1, 2022 at George Mason University’s new exhibition space in Arlington, Virginia. In 2023, we also expect a third installment of this evolving series, each one responsive to the specific site, to be on view at Loyola University Maryland.
Exhibition Statement
by María Alejandra Sáenz
As witnesses of the Anthropocene, more voices need to gather to acknowledge that the ecological crisis of our planet is unfolding before our eyes.
Far from predicting a geological period we know is upon us, Prescient Surfaces begins to reveal the extent of the current environmental crisis through the lens and works of seven artists.
Their works speak to concerns about unsustainable development, changes in the environment and its consequences, including intense variations in temperature that causes wildfires, erosion, poisoned waters, floods, and pollution—all evoking a sense of displacement and urgency.
As the dominant species that inhabit planet earth, humans are accountable for the present ecological devastation, so it’s time to ask: Is there a climate for change? What does climate change look like? How do you feel about climate change? How does climate change affect you personally?
In an attempt to unfold these questions, the joined voices in this exhibition—fighting the growing collective feeling of impotence towards these unsettling times—offer a space to actively engage in this discussion and pose even more questions.
The discourse that this environmental emergency will only affect future generations must end. This climate crisis is currently affecting us, and thus, our actions will deepen, positively or negatively, the impacts on our generation and generations to come.
If prescience entails having foresight or showing knowledge of events before they take place, this exhibition invites viewers to look beyond the surface of the current crisis and act creatively in our everyday life to mitigate climate change and foresee a new ecological future for the earth.
Sue Wrbican
Before the Ghost #1, Sue Wrbican, inkjet print, AP 2021.
Before the Ghost #2, Sue Wrbican, inkjet print, AP 2021.
Yam chew oh
Majulah Singapura, Yam Chew Oh, four inkjet prints, 2021.
An Internal Control, Yam Chew Oh, three inkjet prints, 2021.
The Time Giver, Yam Chew Oh, four inkjet prints, 2021.
KATIE KEHOE
Superimpositions: Wildfires in My Landscape, Eastern Montana Fire, Katie Kehoe, animated photography, 1:06 (loop), 2021.
(source of photograph documenting fire: screen capture, KTVQ)
Billy Friebele
Inversion / Submersion, Billy Friebele, video, 4:21.
Machines Learn From the River, Billy Friebele, a selection of digital print of video stills and images generated by an AI that was trained on the video stills, 2021.
Todd Forsgren
Hydrophilic & Hydrophobic from the series Full Fathom Five, Todd R. Forsgren, 2017-2021.
Gabriela bulisova & Mark Isaac
Untitled 1-12, from the series The Second Fire, Gabriela Bulisova and Mark Isaac, archival digital inkjet prints, 2020.
Dawn Day Dusk, Gabriela Bulisova and Mark Isaac, three channel video, 5:03, 2020.
Embers and Effluents, Gabriela Bulisova and Mark Isaac, three channel video, 4:44, 2020.
Breaking the Surface
A Panel Discussion on Art & The Climate Crisis
On January 25th, 2022, Atlantika hosted a live, online panel discussion titled “Breaking the Surface” led by Atlantika member Todd Forsgren with six exciting panelists. The discussion took as its jumping off point, Atlantika Collective’s exhibition, Prescient Surfaces, at Ryniker-Morrison Gallery at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana (MT). The exhibition represents the response of Atlantika’s members to the ongoing climate crisis, which the panel discussion expanded on, by focusing on art’s role in combating the climate crisis, the possibilities inherent in collaborations between artists and scientists, and related topics.
Atlantika was privileged to host a very insightful and talented panel that included local Montana environmentalists, international experts on climate change, and accomplished curators. The panel included:
Marcus Kauffman, Public Information Officer and Biomass Resource Specialist for the Oregon Department of Forestry and Independent Photographer
Emery Three Irons, GIS analyst for the Crow Water Project at Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency, MT
Amy Morse, Media Specialist and Podcast Producer for the Environmental Defense Fund and Independent Curator
María Alejandra Sáenz, Independent Curator and cofounder of She Habla Español (SHE)
Jon Switzer, Owner of Switzer Landscaping and Roots Garden Center in Billings, MT, author and editor of Lost in Montana
Mika Yoshitake, Independent Curator, working on a Getty Art × Science × LA project on climate change at UCLA’s Hammer Museum titled Breath(e)
For those who were not able to attend the live broadcast, a recording of the panel discussion is included here:
Breaking the Surface: a panel discussion regarding art and the climate crisis, hosted by the Atlantika Collective on Jan. 25, 2022
