Body of Water

Ethnic Mongol farmer walks into his home's compound past tons of sand that has accummulated against a wall that faces the sand desert. Tongu-lugu-lar/Taorimu Tuhasha, Inner Mongolia, China. Tongu-lugu-lar/Taorimu Tuhasha, itself was a government resettlement project for ethnic Mongol herder families in the 1970's in an effort to settle the traditional nomads into permanent settlements. Photo by James Whitlow Delano.

Methane flaring from a well pad turns the night sky a yellow orange in a small rural township in northeastern, PA. The owners of the farmhouse in the foreground leased their land for fracking. Some say that natural gas is a bridge fuel between oil and renewables, but the methane emissions created by unconventional shale gas drilling, or fracking, have a 20% greater greenhouse gas footprint than coal operations according to a recent report. Photo by Nina Berman.

In the Ogoniland village of Kpean, an oil wellhead that had been leaking for weeks has turned into a raging inferno. The local youths keep watch, waiting for Shell to come and put the fire out. This is an environmental disaster for the local people, as it effects their crops, their water and air. Even though Shell has not been allowed to pump oil from its 125 wells in Ogoniland since 1993, they sill have wells that are leaking and often unattended or maintained. This lack of action, which pollutes the lands and forces farmers and fishermen out of work, makes relations between the local communities and Shell very fractious. This Shell oil well is more than 30 years old and this scenerio is typical of the kinds of ongoing problems with the oil works of the Niger Delta. Photo by James Whitlow Delano.

Jean Danet, Bagyeli Pygmy man, drinks whisky from a plastic packet a logging road to the old growth Congo rainforest near the boundary of the US$567 million Kribi deepwater seaport under construction the China Harbour Engineering Company. Cameroon near the border of Equatorial Guinea. The Bagyeli love whisky and it, along with cigarettes, matches, palm oil and rice, was a prerequisite gift before any journey into the Congo rainforest could be negotiated. Photo by James Whitlow Delano.

Tokyo, Body of Water. Photo by James Whitlow Delano

Climate change cannot be ruled out as a shadow player in the intensifying instability in Yemen, where water is running out & employment is hard to come by with a median age of 18.6 years (source: CIA World Factbook) The desolate, 3,000m high mountaintop plateau west of Kawkaban is some of the most prized farm land in the area, because this rocky plateau receives rain from clouds, seen on the horizon sent up from the steamy Red Sea, Yemen. 90% of Yemen's arable land is used for small scale farming like this. Half of that water is diverted away from growing crops to grow qat, a mild narcotic which is legal in Yemen. The Times of London suggested that Yemen could the first country to run out of water and that the capital of Sana'a, with a population of 2 million could run out of water in a decade or sooner if the population continues to to increase. Photo by James Whitlow Delano

About the Project

“Climate change is not just about melting glaciers, rising sea levels and super storms. Climate change affects every aspect of human existence on the planet, our most basic human needs and rights such as potable water, sanitation and our ability to feed ourselves in developing and developed countries alike,” JB Russell, EverydayClimateChange photographer.

According to the United Nations, 85% of humanity lives in the driest half of the planet, with almost 2 billion people lacking access to clean water. Demand for this resource has created tension between communities and even between nations, igniting a struggle for water as a fundamental human right. Body of Water features work from the EverydayClimateChange Instagram feed, created and currently curated by photographer James Whitlow Delano. The goal of the EverydayClimateChange Instagram feed is to show that no one anywhere is immune to effects of climate change. This exhibit showcases the negative impact of climate change on human lives through a visual presentation of Instagram photos taken by diverse photographers around the world. In addition to Delano’s work, the Instagram feed includes submissions by photographers located on six continents that are all witnesses to the effects of environmental degradation, including Ed Kashi, JB Russell, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, and Caroline Bennett.

The aim of this exhibition is to bring attention to the repercussions that environmental degradation can have on communities around the world. We hope to foster discussions about climate change within our global community, what policy makers are currently doing (or not doing) to address the issue, what efforts are being made in Chicago, and how art can be an integral piece starting these conversations.

about the artists

James Whitlow Delano

James Whitlow Delano is an American documentary storyteller based in Tokyo.

Other featured photographers:

Ed Kashi
JB Russell
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
Caroline Bennett
Nina Berman

Public Program

The opening of Body of Water was held at the ART WORKS Projects Studio in Chicago, IL on December 10th, 2015.

artist discussion

On December 10th, 2015 ART WORKS Projects hosted James Whitlow Delano, Michelle Carr and Dr. Jeff Walk (The Nature Conservancy), Dr. John T. Murphy (Argonne National Laboratory), in a conversation about climate change which was moderated by Dr. Christopher Peterson, Loyola University. This panel was part of AWP’s 625 at 6:25 series of free exhibitions, community conversations, panel discussions, film screenings, concerts, and more.

625 at 6:25: Body of Water Discussion

bring this exhibit to you

All of our exhibitions are designed to tour and can be adapted to a broad spectrum of venue types and sizes.

We are happy to provide step-by-step support for hosting this exhibit.

New York installation of Congo/Women

resources & tools

Instagram

The Body of Water exhibit was an extension of the EverydayClimateChange Instagram feed.

IPCC Report

April 2022: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a UN scientific group that provides data for climate policy-makers. The IPCC published their latest report into the progress of mitigation efforts and emissions reductions around the world.

Take Action!

Want to take action against climate change? The UN created a list of 10 actions steps that can make a difference in emissions reduction and preserve our livable climate.

Stats

This exhibit highlights the impact of climate change on water. More information and data about this issue can be found at the UN Water website.