The forthcoming bang
I´m watching my son as he´s blowing up a balloon. In the beginning it´s bright red but as it grows the color turns pale. The rubber expands and the balloon grows bigger. Simultaneously my discomfort grows with it. When is it going to burst? My son blows in more air, and I can barely watch. The fear of it bursting is unbearable, its like holding a unsecured grenade. Now it blew up.
We are currently living in an environmental crisis. Our world today is not the same as yesterday and tomorrow we will wake up to a new one. We consume to much and our behavior has taken us to the position we´re now in. We need to change if we want tomorrow to be a pleasant one. Our brain has not develop in the phase our society has. The comfort we feel when buying a sweater is the same one the ancient man felt when killing a mammoth. We collect to much and the collecting is now too easy. We need to find ways of changing our behavior. Ways to find a way out of this system off longing and desire.
At Sergels torg in Stockholm (the center for consumption int the capital city) a balloon has started to grow. In the beginning its small and lies on the ground but as it grows larger it starts to float. Christmas shopping has reached new records every year and this year (2022) new ones are expected. A gauge one the ground registers the money that’s being spent in the neighborhood and for every krona additional air is blown in to the balloon. Now it´s large and floating high above the ground. It’s part of the urban landscape and visible from the entire city. How large can it become? When is it going to burst?
The balloon is a symbol for the climate crisis. A symbol for our earth. Its an exhortation to not buy more than you need. The forthcoming burst makes you feel discomfort and you do not want to be the one to cause it. The balloon visualizes the strained position we´re in and invites you to change. Now it blew up. Is there a new one to blow up? No there´s not.
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I´m watching my son as he´s blowing up a balloon. In the beginning it´s bright red but as it grows the color turns pale. The rubber expands and the balloon grows bigger. Simultaneously my discomfort grows with it. When is it going to burst? My son blows in more air, and I can barely watch. The fear of it bursting is unbearable, its like holding a unsecured grenade. Now it blew up.
We are currently living in an environmental crisis. Our world today is not the same as yesterday and tomorrow we will wake up to a new one. We consume to much and our behavior has taken us to the position we´re now in. We need to change if we want tomorrow to be a pleasant one. Our brain has not develop in the phase our society has. The comfort we feel when buying a sweater is the same one the ancient man felt when killing a mammoth. We collect to much and the collecting is now too easy. We need to find ways of changing our behavior. Ways to find a way out of this system off longing and desire.
At Sergels torg in Stockholm (the center for consumption int the capital city) a balloon has started to grow. In the beginning its small and lies on the ground but as it grows larger it starts to float. Christmas shopping has reached new records every year and this year (2022) new ones are expected. A gauge one the ground registers the money that’s being spent in the neighborhood and for every krona additional air is blown in to the balloon. Now it´s large and floating high above the ground. It’s part of the urban landscape and visible from the entire city. How large can it become? When is it going to burst?
The balloon is a symbol for the climate crisis. A symbol for our earth. Its an exhortation to not buy more than you need. The forthcoming burst makes you feel discomfort and you do not want to be the one to cause it. The balloon visualizes the strained position we´re in and invites you to change. Now it blew up. Is there a new one to blow up? No there´s not.
