SOLASTALGIES

SOLASTALGIES A multi-sensory exploration of climate change and species loss

In their joint exhibition, artists Isa Klee and Najah Zarbout explore the emotional and physical consequences of climate change. The term solastagia (2005, Glenn Albrecht) describes the distressing feeling of loss, pain and grief that arises when we witness or learn about the destruction of our environment.

Najah Zarbout’s family comes from the Kerkennah Islands in the Tunisian Mediterranean. This six-part archipelago, just a few metres above sea level, is one of the most threatened regions in the Mediterranean due to climate change. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion and the salinisation of groundwater are leading to a dramatic loss of biodiversity. Najah Zarbout’s works, mostly made from natural materials, reflect the fragility and vulnerability of the archipelago and invite us to reflect on the consequences of human behaviour.

Isa Klee, who grew up in Lower Austria, works intersectionally between art, research and urban design. With the knowledge that we humans can only survive in a functioning ecosystem, she initiates, activates and designs biodiverse spaces and processes to promote awareness of species conservation. In recent years, Isa Klee has created numerous new habitats for threatened urban animals such as bats, swifts and wild bees in the city of Vienna. She is the founder and director of the Öko Campus Wien and winner of the 2020 Climate Protection Award of the City of Vienna.

The exhibition Solastalgies, which is taking place at Parallel Vienna, combines the commitment of both artists into a multi-sensory spatial installation. Visitors encounter a floating island of the Kerkennah archipelago, made from the equally endangered Halfa grass. A sound installation plays the voices of threatened animal species. A robotic mower beneath it grazes demonstratively in idle mode. It harbours the ambivalence between technological progress and destruction of nature. If on the one hand it stands for convenience and order, it also symbolises the potential danger to living biodiversity.