Michael, your allegorical paintings showcase the themes of disasters and climate change. Although this is an existential threat, is there any hope for humanity?
I guess my honest answer is that I’m trying to be hopeful, but I’m worried that things will get worse before they improve. I used to be more optimistic about this situation. I thought we would make bigger changes now. But, every year there is a year and we seem to continue along the path of rampant consumption and excess. People who profit from the way things are almost incentivized to change. We are changing the planet quickly. Destroy ecosystems, exterminate species and fill the world with plastic. The list continues. It is said that by now we have pumped enough greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that the climate will continue to warm even if we want to pivot and stop all emissions. Not so, but I think it’s getting worse. That’s why I have to express my concerns through art.
Finally, humans may manage to get into trouble. I just think it’s unfortunate. If we had just made a smarter decision a few years ago, we could have given up on ourselves and the planet. Having said that, today’s younger generation has given me hope. They seemed to recognize how terrible it became. I hope they can stop our species from crossing the cliff.
Bring dinosaurs! It’s hard not to notice the popular dinosaurs in your latest work. Coupled with the near future of dystopia, these giant creatures stomp through iconic capitalist symbols including gas stations…
Yes, these prehistoric creatures are designed to symbolize the violent forces we release on Earth. They are basically visual representations of abstract concepts such as abstract concepts, such as climate change. A century and half of pumping carbon into the atmosphere will certainly have some negative consequences. We have effectively liberated these ghosts from the past, and now dinosaurs have caused damage to our world. We have shown this problem in ourselves.
The wings seem to have found a perfect home in the shabby Chevron Station…
Well, this is just a humorous point of view that I believe the planet will get better in the end. Despite the ecological impact of our species on the earth, nature will still adapt and life will continue. Whether we are part of the future is still unclear…
…I have always believed that plastic dinosaur toys are meta-art objects in themselves. Dinosaur toys are molded in plastic, which comes from oil, without fossil fuels…and dinosaurs! I feel the same about your paintings, seeing dinosaurs facing the gas station…
You know, I haven’t considered the angle about toy dinosaurs made of plastic. But you are right. Our society is full of plastic.
I especially like the paintings of buried car piles, piled up, a little bit decomposed so slowly, far below the surface of the earth. How did they get there?
I think this painting is a fable about the concept of consequences or “cause and effect.” These cars all come together to represent our society’s legacy of fossil fuel consumption. Now, be clear, I have nothing to do with cars. I think they are useful. They enable us to move around and assist us in business. It’s just that our current paradigm is unsustainable. So the cars you see here are covered by a fundamentally changing world that is transformed by our addiction to fossil fuels.
Dinosaurs seem to be thriving in this painting…
Yes, I call this painting a “reversal of wealth.” Because our actions have freed these dinosaurs from the ground, they are now wandering around the ground, causing various environmental damage such as catastrophic flooding and droughts and droughts, and turning the earth into a mountaintop. Of course, ironically, it’s a car trapped on Earth.
A century and half of pumping carbon into the atmosphere will certainly have some negative consequences.
