CLAIRE MILNER British, b. 1966
Burning World, 2023
Acrylic on box canvas
150 x 200 cm
signed and dated verso
Titled after J.G. Ballard’s novel ‘The Burning World’ and inspired by Henri Rousseau’s painting, ‘Surprised!’ this work simultaneously speaks to current events and mankind’s limitless ability to be caught out...
Titled after J.G. Ballard’s novel ‘The Burning World’ and inspired by Henri Rousseau’s painting, ‘Surprised!’ this work simultaneously speaks to current events and mankind’s limitless ability to be caught out by recurring catastrophic climate events which should, by now, have an unfortunate predictability. Uncontrollable and devastating wildfires are becoming an expected part of our seasonal calendars. They occur on every continent except Antarctica and most regions experience weather conditions conducive to the outbreak of a wildfire at some point in the year. Wildfires in ecosystems like peatlands and rainforests, which store large amounts of irrecoverable terrestrial carbon, release vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. In this way, wildfires may accelerate the positive feedback loop in the carbon cycle, making it more difficult to halt rising temperatures.