Xavier Cortada: Climate Science Art (2024)
Chapter: Native Flags
Native Flags
Amid concerns about melting polar sea ice and geopolitical control over the Arctic (using the Northwest Passage shipping lanes and extracting the petroleum resources beneath the sea ice), Xavier Cortada raised a green flag and reclaimed it for nature. He developed Native Flags, a participatory eco-art project that engages others in planting a green flag and native tree in their front yards to prevent the polar regions from melting. By reforesting urban areas, people can contribute to carbon sequestration, which helps mitigate global warming and slow the melting of the sea ice.
The Longitudinal Installation (South Pole), 2007
Digital print on Somerset velvet paper (edition of 5)
Xavier Cortada placed 24 shoes in a circle around the South Pole, each serving as a proxy for a person affected by global climate change in the world to the north. He placed the shoes inches apart along the respective longitudes where these individuals live, conceptually diminishing the distance between them.
During his performance, Cortada recited quotes from 24 individuals across 24 time zones, each describing the personal impacts of climate change. Each quote was recited above a shoe, painted with an acrylic mix of soil samples from Antarctica’s Dry Valleys, representing its specific time zone. The 24 shoes were arranged in a circle, aligned with their corresponding longitudes as they converged toward the South Pole.
The Longitudinal Installation (North Pole), 2008
Digital print on Somerset velvet paper (edition of 5)
As he did at the South Pole, Xavier Cortada placed 24 shoes in a circle around the North Pole, each representing a person affected by global climate change. He arranged 24 women’s shoes inches apart, along the lines of longitude that crossed the places where these 24 individuals lived, conceptually diminishing the distance between them. After positioning the shoes, Cortada went to each shoe and recited a statement from a person living at that longitude about how climate change affects them.
