BRAVE NEW WORLD

"Brave New World", the title that artist, Tyrone Geter, gave to this powerful series, invites us to bear witness to our current collective truth: the harsh effects of climate change disproportionately impact the most vulnerable among us- our children. This poignant body of work reflects themes of environmental injustice and racism, both of which exist largely due to practices and policies constructed by the powers of white supremacy that have devastatingly been in power for far too long.

"These practices and policies, historically, and to this day, favored the health and wellbeing of white communities over those of non-white communities. Environmental justice is an important part of the struggle to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for communities of color who have been forced to live, work, and play closest to sources of pollution." (NRDC).

Instead of ruminating on the overwhelmingly negative consequences of the climate crisis that we are facing, (rising temperatures, disastrous weather patterns, dangerous effects on our physical and mental health, etc.) Geter offers us an alternative perspective: an artist's unique, fantastical vision, or perhaps an artist's divine premonition of what nature inevitably does. It changes. Incorporating the scientific fact that nature itself is always transforming, continually adapting, and evolving to survive; Geter depicts some of his young subjects wielding their own newly adapted evolutionary powers. They manipulate bolts of lightning. They control the clouds and sky and absorb these frenetic energies. They utilize and control fire and wind. With these powers, the children in his works take control of their environment in ways that we haven't even begun to imagine possible.

Geter encourages us to become activists and work to combat critical environmental issues we are facing. We must dismantle discriminatory systems in power to ease the massive burden forced upon children and people of color. The artist's objective is to help us connect emotionally with the subjects that he so masterfully depicts in charcoal on paper. His breathtaking works motivate us all to act- to do better, to be better, as it's now or never in our coexistence in this Brave New World.

Leila Davenport Ross, Curator, Brave New World