The Yarra City Council in Melbourne’s inner-city funded an art installation that aims to provoke thoughts about the potential end of the world.
Yarra City Council, situated in inner-city Melbourne, installed a unique clock designed to countdown the days until the earth’s predicted demise due to climate change. According to Melbourne artist Yandell Walton, who was commissioned to create the $18,000 (US$11,000) clock, the earth’s expiration date is estimated to be within the next six years.
Walton, known for her focus on environmental issues in her artworks, spent 18 months crafting the solar-powered clock, now displayed in Edinburgh Gardens in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North.
Titled “Zone Red,” the installation is intended to raise awareness about climate change and its potential consequences. The clock, inspired by the United Nations’ Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reflects the organization’s prediction that the earth’s temperature will rise by 1.5 degrees unless emissions are reduced by 2030.
The clock’s reflective surface features a world map depicting global carbon dioxide emissions. Walton explained that the clock may not function on cloudy days, highlighting humanity’s reliance on electricity as part of the artistic statement.
Despite the dire predictions, Greenpeace Founder, Patrick Moore, disputes the notion of a doomsday scenario. He argues that throughout history, humans have been susceptible to apocalyptic prophecies based on fear and control tactics.
Moore, a Canadian ecologist who co-founded Greenpeace in 1971, believes that the younger generation has been indoctrinated with a sense of guilt and shame about human impact on the environment.
