Award 2021
Welcome to the Social Art Award 2021 – Online Gallery!
We are grateful for the many inspiring contributions from artists around the world. The selected works reflect a broad spectrum of contemporary social art practices and explore new relationships between humans, nature, and technology. They address themes such as ecological regeneration, climate justice, sustainable futures, social resilience, and more-than-human perspectives.
Below you will find the submissions from the Social Art Award 2021 – New Greening edition that passed the initial jury round. The Online Gallery offers public visibility to these works and encourages dialogue around their ideas and approaches; it does not replace the final jury decision.
Thank you to all artists for sharing your visionary and committed work. We invite you to explore the gallery and engage with the perspectives shaping New Greening.
Exhausted earth III (host)
Christiaan Diedericks
In a nutshell, my work "Exhausted Earth III (host)" depicts a person in a pin-striped suit (symbolising big corporations) sitting on a winged-back chair in a barren landscape directly "facing" the viewer. On his knee, he holds a human skull and more skulls may be seen in the landscape. Very simply put, the skull represents the possible demise of our planet - we may have already reached tipping point. In this instance, the skull does not represent Memento Mori (remember that you must die, but rather Memento Vivere (remember that you must live). However, the seated figure is depicted without a head and a single flowering plant is growing from his neck symbolising hope and a personal belief that it is not too late if the human species is willing to change its ways. A flutter of butterflies surrounds the subject and is employed as a symbol for critical transformation or rather, changing our ways, in order to prevent the total destruction of our planet. The remains of a massive oil tanker is strategically placed on the horizon, a grim reminder of especially oil spills and the negative impact of the persistent use of fossil fuels globally. Although the image might appear dark at first glance, the work is on the contrary a message of hope.
In a nutshell, my work "Exhausted Earth III (host)" depicts a person in a pin-striped suit (symbolising big corporations) sitting on a winged-back chair in a barren landscape directly "facing" the viewer. On his knee, he holds a human skull and more skulls may be seen in the landscape. Very simply put, the skull represents the possible demise of our planet - we may have already reached tipping point. In this instance, the skull does not represent Memento Mori (remember that you must die, but rather Memento Vivere (remember that you must live). However, the seated figure is depicted without a head and a single flowering plant is growing from his neck symbolising hope and a personal belief that it is not too late if the human species is willing to change its ways. A flutter of butterflies surrounds the subject and is employed as a symbol for critical transformation or rather, changing our ways, in order to prevent the total destruction of our planet. The remains of a massive oil tanker is strategically placed on the horizon, a grim reminder of especially oil spills and the negative impact of the persistent use of fossil fuels globally. Although the image might appear dark at first glance, the work is on the contrary a message of hope.