Violence Of Slow Tides

What is happening with coastal change today is not the consequence of any rapid or impulsive actions. It is an outcome of a series of slow violence, which happens everyday, everywhere, quietly but toxically. Words are also part of the slow violence. Climate change deniers speak against climate change issues on TV and social media everyday, manipulating the public by their discourse. They deny the existence of global warming and the evidence of rising sea-levels. In contrast to the event-based disasters that gain most of the attention from the public, slow violence occurs gradually and out of sight, such as coastal erosion. The violence of delayed destruction is rarely considered as violence at all. However, it is much more influential and devastating than the event-based disasters because it occurs across time and space. (Nixon, 2011:2)

Slow violence increases over time by inaction and delay, and it is the delay I am focusing on, rather than the physical consequences. My work comprises of quotations from climate change deniers, sourced from 1989 to 2018. These deniers are either scientists, who are supported by big fossil fuel companies, or politicians, whose only care is profit. It is necessary to arouse public’s attention to the issues caused by the invisibility of slow violence, and evoke real actions to deal with it. 

Reference: Nixon R (2011) Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

造成今日海岸變遷的主因是一連串的「緩暴力」(Slow Violence)，而非任何快速或衝動行為。這些每日在世上各處發生的緩暴力，看似寂靜與無害，卻如劇毒般慢慢地侵蝕著我們與我們所身處的世界，文字與話語也是當今所悄然發生的緩暴力的一環，氣候變遷否定論者不停地在新聞媒體與社群網絡上散播不實言論操弄大眾，就如同岸邊的浪濤看似平靜無害，但在一波一波拍打下不間斷地侵蝕著大地，這些由一字一句漸漸堆積起來的暴力，終有一天是會崩塌而倒向人類。政府與大眾卻鮮少將其視為暴力的一種，例如：海岸侵蝕，與事件型的災害相比，因為其跨越了時間與空間的特性導致緩暴力更具毀滅性的影響力。(Nixon, 2011:2) 

大眾的不關切與不作為使得緩暴力蟄伏於日常生活之中並於時間中疊加。此作節錄了自80年代至今否定氣候變遷的科學家、政治人物以及石油公司的言論，這些人大多接受了來自石油公司的資金支援並且視環境於無物，所關注的只有利益。使大眾正視因緩暴力之無形所造成的傷害，並促使他們做出實際行動去面對問題。

Reference: Nixon R (2011) Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

"Violence of Slow Tides" is selected to be part of "COAST", a micro exhibition of artworks responding to the topic of coastal change.

One hundred artists applied from around the world, referencing aspects such as coastal erosion, construction, beach waste, sea rise, flooding, acidification of sea water. I am delighted to be one of the 20 selected artists. 

The exhibition runs until 8th September in An Talla Solais, Ullapool.

"Coast" is alongside "As Coastline is to Ocean" created by David Cass, Rober Callender, and Joseph Calleja.

more info
Coast exhibition
Coast - artworks and artists
As Coastline is to Ocean