Resting Place

Hello, my name is Robin Hextrum, and I would like to tell you about my painting titled Resting Place. I have been making paintings that address climate change since 2011. Throughout these years, my work has evolved in various ways, but it always returns to environmental concerns. Many of my paintings utilize a surrealist juxtaposition of incongruous elements to call attention to climate issues. For example, combining icebergs with opulent imagery from traditional Dutch paintings asks us to examine the historical legacy and environmental impacts of our ever-demanding needs for material wealth. I see this painting as a memorial to the living creatures suffering under the effects of climate change. We now live in a new geological epoch known as the “Anthropocene.” This period refers to the significant human impact on species extinction and the climate since 1950. It is difficult to comprehend this degree of harm and responsibility. I believe art provides a valuable platform for processing the existential threat of climate change that can be both healing and transformative in its call to action.