Exterminia

Artist: Nila Rezaei (Australia) / Nathan Adler (Australia)

Collaborators: The Kernel Collective (Australia) / Sam Cassisi (Australia) / Selena Griffith (Australia)

Exterminia attempts to represent the way that the actions of human beings are directly influencing climate change and explores the impact on the planet’s oceans, marine life and coral reefs. 

Climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, has increased the temperature of the oceans, which in recent years has led to massive coral-bleaching events. These events have given rise to predictions that, unless action is taken now, the planet could lose three-quarters of its coral reefs by 2050.

The installation consists of a seat, an organic shape that is an abstract interpretation of a sea creature. It is bathed in soft coloured lights that create an effect similar to the bioluminescence of marine creatures; however, when a visitor sits down, sensors signal a change and the colours begin to desaturate and dilute from the sitting spot. The longer a person is sitting, the more the ‘bleaching’ happens; but when the visitor starts to retreat, the colours begin to return to full luminescence.

Exterminia has been constructed using alternating timber and acrylic panels, machined using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) precision manufacturing tools. The materials are arranged in rows to create a curved structure around a cavity, which houses the lighting and sensor components. The clear acrylic panels are sandwiched between the timbers to create a bright reflection of the interior LED strips and set up a powerful lighting rhythm. Sensors installed behind the acrylic panels detect the distance of the user from the seat.

This installation is the artist’s personal response to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) and its draft agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to slow the pace of global warming. In 2016 scientists fear that the world will face its longest and most severe coral-bleaching event yet.

Country represented by installation: Australia