Portraits from the Precipice: a worldwide art movement to save the planet
Our Climate Art competition is now closed, but we're keeping the online gallery open - these submissions are just too good to take down and we want the eyes of the world on the climate crisis.
Thank you to everyone who took part - we'll be uploading a video of the exhibition shortly so come pay us a visit again soon.
Portraits from the Precipice Gallery
World on Fire (2020)
Simone Eisenbeiss
I want to speak out for all the animals who died in the Australian bushfire crisis as well for those who still fight with the burning disaster. It's heartbreaking to read and see a lot about the suffering animals who died in the flames. I can't imagine their torment. They are defenceless against the fire and have no means of escape! I want to honour all animals at risk with my artwork, including the animals who get eliminated like the 10,000 camels who 'drink too much water' or the injured grazing animals. We live in an age where time and money is very important for higher forces, and they have the power, doesn't matter if the whole population is against the system. In this case they think killing the animals is the fastest and cheapest way to get rid of one of the problems. I feel for all the animals and want to honour every single life. This piece will be a part of a big fundraising goal for the Australian wildlife! 🌿🐨🦘I feel with all the animals and want to honour every single life. It doesn't matter how big or small the living being was - every single life matters. They count on us! ❤️
It seemed such a good idea (2019)
db Waterman
A sunny summer day. Two boys want to go swimming in the sea. Nothing seems to be wrong, but thousands of plastic bottles float under water. The sea is polluted with our waste plastic. This artwork is part of the 'living with pollution and waste on earth' series. All my artworks are inspired by weathered walls with posters, peeling paint and all sorts of things in decline. We need to act now.
Read moreOur world is dying (2020)
Seren H (age 10)
I believe our world is dying. Are we too late to save our world?
Deforestation (2017)
Neha Soni
What used to be theirs is being snatched away from them every second of the day. The ever expanding human population has led to agricultural expansion and deforestation resulting in loss of natural habitat. To make things worse, hunting, poisoning and poaching by livestock ranchers is still happening today and are some of the greatest human threats that they are facing. The lion is the king of the jungle, and still... he can't stop what is happening. He is in agony, and crying for help. Please help him. Save our forests! It is their home...
Read moreWake up call (2019)
Beata Belanszky
This painting shows the climate crisis in the way I see it, the way we couldn't see it. Our world is obviously upside down. The little girl with her clear and open mind and heart, leaving her toys and childhood behind, opens up our eyes to the situation we are in and to the focus we should take. To make things right, to focus on our beautiful planet which feeds us, which gives us home, which surrounds us. We are all part of this and we should all take care of our home consciously. Thank you, Greta for showing us what is really important. Thank you for stopping the ignorance in so many of us who are otherwise open and ready for a change, even if it's a small one. Every small change becomes large when added together. We can shape our world together.
My Planet - Balloon (2019)
Lena Smirnova
This is what I think about our planet. Our only planet... Each and everyone of us is having an impact.
Read moreSir David Attenborough (2019)
Laura Selevos
"The fact is that no species has ever had such control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share this earth." This quote really cuts to the core of the responsibility at our feet. Sir David is literally everything to everyone, he's the nations Grandfather and he is so instrumental in bringing about change within mass society. I hope this painting demonstrates a softer side as the much loved and admired Sir David Attenborough, through pastel colours and soft lines, crossed with a slightly stern and serious pose, making sure we listen and take action."
Last Year's Model (2011)
Stephen Beer
Last year's model is thrown to landfill as we try to keep up with the latest trends. This collage has an acrylic painted background with the detail provided by images taken from magazines that promote the very thing this artwork kicks against.
Read moreProtest (2019)
Laura Selevos
Climate Change to me is the elephant in the room that we've all been ignoring for far too long. I feel sad for scientists who for years have been warning us of the damaging effects of our behaviour. I'm sceptical of the future and of the impact climate change will have on humanity. I myself eat a plant based diet, grow my own vegetables, use public transport (not because it's good value or even pleasant but because it is greener), I recycle, compost and I still ask myself - "could I be doing more?" - as I feel the weight of climate change bearing down on me. I made this painting to draw in the viewer and focus on this youthful girl, wearing her bright yellow clothing, looking hopeful, to contrast with her mature words of warning, subtle in the background. Only when you get close enough to her, you can read them and you will realise the hope in her eyes is pure determination to fix this.
Rewilding - Times Square (2019)
Nicola McLean
Rewild: restore an area of land to its natural uncultivated state (used with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animals that had previously been driven out or exterminated). This is the idea behind a series of paintings I'm working on called 'rewilding' only in this scenario imagine that despite being warned repeatedly we refused to listen and the doomsday clock made it all the way to midnight (it's currently at 2 minutes). The planet is now free of humans and rewilding has occurred naturally. The rest of the animal kingdom having once again found the perfect balance they had before our interference. Nature has reclaimed its space and all is once again right with the world. This is the second in the series where I decided to have an elephant and her baby wander freely in Times Square.
Read moreAvarice (2019)
Moira Stark
I found it emotionally difficult to draw this mindful cartoon as it pinpoints the plight of the Animal Kingdom in all corners of the world, and the voracious destruction of their natural habitat through the mindless actions of avaricious corporations, industries and individuals with no care for the environment. Their only selfish care being for their own profits and pockets regardless of the damage being caused to all other sentient beings. The over-population of the human species engulfs so much of the natural environment and resources, and our voracious appetite for these natural resources regardless of care-full sustainability is bringing about our own demise as well as that of the entire planet. I do believe that art awakens, and creative projects like yours are so innovative and essential to helping bring home the message to every person and every doorstep.
The burning heart of mother earth (2019)
Malcolm Horton
I wanted to portray 'Mother Earth' as a person expressing her anger, anguish, pain and desperation at the way we are treating her. I would like to think there is hope in turning it all around with all of the amazing technical knowledge we now have and are developing to try and bring back a balance in the world for future generations. It makes me sad that it's taken until now to bring it to the forefront when in fact we have known for many years about the impact that human progress is having on the environment and all of life. Acrylic painting on canvas (30"x40")
When the sea meets the sky (2019)
Lauren Stephenson
This work represents sea levels rising related to climate change and is intended to be accessible for children, as well as adults. The scary reality is that climate change has already begun and if we continue this way then our homes will be overtaken by the sea. When we lose the foundations for life suddenly the thought of tasks, such as not using plastic, is indispensable. The light in the painting is fading, as is our chance. We should take care of our earth and animals, as it has done for us.
Carousel IV (2019)
Daniel Loveday
A symbolic depiction of global warming. Using one of my favourite icons, the goldfish bowl, to represent a fragile ecology heated up by the reckless industrialised burning of the greedy capitalists. The landscape is broken and shadowed by clouds in which human beings can barely exist. The land mass on the goldfish bowl is melting away and running down to form the poles of the fantasy fairground occupied by destructive riders.
Read moreRenewable Energy (2019)
Jean Tatton Jones
Renewable Energy is one of a new series of vivid abstracts, which deal with important climate change issues. The problems caused by climate change are many and include floods, hurricanes, extreme heatwave, the disappearance of many plants and animals that can't adapt to the changes. In this painting I hope to point to possible solutions to the climate crisis. This painting "Renewable Energy" shows a red, powerful wave which represents the need to be more careful in our use of energy and when possible to find alternative cleaner, greener alternatives to fossil fuels, including wave, water, wind and solar power. The ‘wave’ has several nuances of meaning. The crashing wave represents the power of water and wind and the use that can be made of that. The red and orange colour suggests flames licking the surface of the sun indicating the power of solar energy. The painting is in oil and acrylic and the layers have taken several weeks to complete.
HOME (2019)
Angelo Nataraj Saka
All of the creatures on this planet are part of one spirit and one love. We need to take care of our world because no one else is going to do it for us.
Read moreMeltdown (2019)
Kirstie Taylor
This is a collage about Climate Change and how the Polar Bear will soon be extinct. It's on heavyweight paper and made form hundreds of pieces of paper with a little bit of acrylic painting and finally a protective soft gloss top coat.
Read moreThe time is running out (2019)
Pilar Correia
The painting is about plastic, highlighting that we are in a plastic era and how we are leaving a layer of plastic for future archeologists to find as it does not decompose for 1000 years. It is destroying animal life, ecosystems, and oceans. Wales are found full of plastic, the fish we eat have micro plastic particles. I look around and there is plastic every where, so I decided to temporarily borrow some plastic of my own recycling bin to make the models for this painting. However, as there is a limited number of times plastic can be recycled we must be looking urgently at new ways of packaging and of using environmentally friendly products and renewable energy.
The Future's in our Hands (2019)
Zoe Elizabeth Norman
The equivalent of 300 football fields of rainforest are being destroyed every hour, causing deforestation and exacerbating global warming with C02 Emissions. Indonesia is now one of the worlds largest emitters of carbon dioxide. The jungles of Sumatra and Borneo have been devastated for palm oil, leaving endangered animals such as orangutans, elephants rhino and tigers homeless and destroying trees and plants vital to our planets biodiversity. My painting highlights the sad plight of Indonesia and Borneos orangutan population. The destruction and clearing of rainforest, fuelled by our greed for cheap junk food supplied to us by manufacturers including Kellogs, Nestle, Walls and Mars is responsible for this tragic catastrophe. We need to plant trees not destroy them if we are to have a chance of saving our planet for future generations. You can help reduce the destruction of our remaining rainforest by avoiding all products containing palm oil. My portrait features a young orangutan named Sprout who is in the care of Dudley Zoological Gardens, UK.
Read moreDestination uninhabitable planet (2019)
Pilar Correia
The painting is about plastic, highlighting that we are in a plastic era and how we are leaving a layer of plastic for future archeologists to find as it does not decompose for 1000 years. It is destroying animal life, ecosystems, and oceans. Wales are found full of plastic, the fish we eat have micro plastic particles. I look around and there is plastic every where, so I decided to temporarily borrow some plastic of my own recycling bin to make the models for this painting. However, as there is a limited number of times plastic can be recycled we must be looking urgently at new ways of packaging and of using environmentally friendly products and renewable energy.
Beyond the Precipice (2019)
Rebecca Coleman
In this painting I show a man's sleepwalk into oblivion. Here, the precipice of the climate crisis is far behind; the earth is disintegrating into an apocalypse of oil and fire... And still the planet's resources continue to be drilled and extracted and burnt and squandered: those with the power to change, instead ignore reality. In the foreground, a human figure consumed by flames grasps at its money - still the only measure of success of which he can conceive.
Read moreAnthropocene (2019)
Christopher T Roberts
Climate change and preventing it from getting worse is important to me because I'm a father and I am afraid of what sort of environment my children will inherit. The child in the bottom right corner is my son (Clark). He is playing in a vast garbage tip and a displaced polar bear is approaching. The landscape in the back ground is Welsh Snowdonia set in hellish red. This painting is very personal as it depicts my own home and family but also speaks more generally about the climate emergency we are trying to survive. This is a mixed media work on canvas using water based paint and varnish (82cm x 102cm).
I Matter (2019)
Ashlie Urquhart
It’s important to help them survive. We all deserve to live.
Read moreHuman Intervention (2019)
Nistor Andrei
By destroying the world around us, we are destroying ourselves. The artwork shows how destructive human intervention can be in relation to the environment. Change will come from each indivdual and indivdually we can work together. All beings and all natural elements come from the same source and we are connected to everything that is living around us. By destroying the life around us, we are destroying ourselves. We can save ourselves by consciously connecting with nature and by realising what it offers us so we can live. The photo was taken six years ago in a forest near Bucharest in Romania, edited in November 2019.
Read morePolar Bear Epitaph (2019)
Kitty Forster
I painted this whilst emotional after watching David Attenborough's 'Climate Change: The Truth'. I have watched Attenborough for 30 years and adore animals. I had also spent a decade reading about environmental issues. Somehow, Attenborough's emotive and visceral documentary truly connected the two interests in a heart rending way, helping me to accept the full travesty of the situation, and the plight of many of our most beloved animal species.
I Scream for Climate Change
J. Procter (age 11)
My drawing represents the ice caps melting in a metaphorical form; an ice cream melting. I made it using only 6 coloured pencils and sketches with a normal pencil. To me, climate change means the problems our world is facing, the melting of the ice caps (Svalbard and Antarctica), plastic pollution, food waste, deforestation, the rise of sea level and Earth's heat, the movement of north Atlantic current and more - all issues linked together by some aspect or form.
You can't eat money
Kitty Forster
The artwork is based on the premise that it is ridiculous to prioritise the economy and a capitalist system over the health of the planet. Money was designed to purchase commodities. In the dystopic nightmare of being unable to grow enough food to survive, in a significantly warmer climate, money is redundant as a symbol. I've been reading and listening a lot to great thinkers such as Naomi Klein and Kevin Anderson and I am realising what an enormously complicated issue it is to disentangle and resolve, due to the economic system we have created becoming an unpredictable entity. But... the bigger picture is the one we need to hold onto.
Pollution Window (2017)
Rina Mualem
"Pollution window" is one of many pieces of my modern pop art works. It reacts to global pollution which reflects how every small act by each one of us is polluting our environment. Sometimes, we look up to the sky and think to ourselves what a beautiful cloud while it's the opposite - a smoggy, polluted, chemical cloud that is dangerous for any living creature.
Read moreThe Butterfly Effect (2019)
Andrew Hartley
My artwork was painted digitally on a computer and is representing how over time small changes can have large unforeseen consequences. I believe human actions are directly responsible for the pollution of our land, seas, air quality and heavy industrial areas. We are endangering our wildlife through pollution and the destruction of animal habitats. Without urgent corrective intervention from the major nations of the world working together, I think we will ultimately be responsible for the extinction of the human race. Regarding the world climate, overall I think we have little or no control, ice ages come and go, but cleaning up our mess will inevitably help us all.
Artist spotlight... Ryan Louder
Ryan Louder has been a successful songwriter composer for twenty years with a huge output of symphonies to operas to co-writing with the biggest artists in the world from Dua Lipa to Migos.
He's a prolific oil painter of nearly 700 paintings only starting to paint little under three years ago. This creativity is partly due to his incurable brain disorder Narcolepsy which locks Ryan’s brain into REM awake or asleep, and has been put forward for a study at Guys and St Thomas hospital.
He sat down with some of the Octopus team to talk about his Portrait of Greta work – a tribute to the young climate activist Greta Thunberg taking the form of nine oil paintings and a symphony.
Have a look inside the studio, see how these paintings came together and listen to an excerpt of Greta in song in our interview below.
You can listen to his music here.
Artist spotlight... Edgar Ruesga
Fascinated by the beauty hiding in plain sight, every day scenarios with just the perfect light or a very interesting composition, Edgar is obsessed in finding the magic and meaning in reality.
His piece created exclusively for the 'Portraits from the Precipice' project is described as a factory of nightmares. This is the second painting to the 'Nimbus' series, and it's exactly the opposite from the first one, in here we see the chaotic and aggressive assault to our environment, the urgent call for action and a gloomy view of the future in black and white.
Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!
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