A.I. of the Storm

Author
Lexie Hill

The metaphor of the Cold War invites us to analyse other forms of 'war' and violence present in our society, such as man-made warfare against the climate.

The natural world and the technological world are becoming increasingly connected, and it has a cost. The exploitation of the environment is the price to pay for the rapid anthropogenic developments of today. This piece aims to demonstrate the destruction caused when technology and nature become entangled. Consisting of a dead root system and various pieces of wire and tech ware, this piece uses the juxtaposition of wires and natural elements to create a form that is similar to a storm. A storm is symbolic as it is a natural occurrence that can create mass destruction. But with an increase in manufacturing technological goods which leads to climate change, there is an increase in these destructive storms. The entanglement of the wires and the dead roots in the "storm" imply that the destruction, while mostly harming the natural world, is mutually destructive and will thus result in mutual devastation. 
After completing the piece, it was important to convey the destruction of the planet, through the dismantling of the piece. I had students participating in the workshop all hold onto a piece of the "storm" and at once, we all pulled the creation apart. By performing the annihilation of the art, it translates to the active destruction of the planet.