Futuresonic

An installation of beautiful and distinctive ceramic plates illustrating how the promises of politicians are at odds with the harm done to the environment in different eras. The plates are portraits of U.S. Presidents from McKinley to Bush, each one created from smog and using their historical quotes about the environment and business.

The stencilled plates were left on the roof of the artist's house in Los Angeles and exposed to the city's legendary smog. The duration of each exposure was determined by the environmental records of that particular U.S. president so those least concerned with the environment were left longer and hence appears darker. For example, the plate for Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) was exposed for a total of 40 days. The quotes are printed around each plate in gold letters. For Reagan a quote from a speech in 1980 declaring, "approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources."

Biography

Kim Abeles is an artist whose work crosses disciplines and media to explore and map the urban environment and chronicle broad social issues. Kim’s work has been exhibited extensively and is held in numerous public and private collections. 

www.kimabeles.com