Joanne Mott  | Somewhere Under The Rainbow

18 April – 18 May 2019

Joanne Mott, Somewhere Under The Rainbow, 2019, LED solar powered lights, steel, 1.5 x 1.5 x 2 metres

Somewhere Under the Rainbow developed from an examination of statistical data around climate change and considering how data visualisations may be expressed sculpturally.

The artwork, which is comprised of 7 consecutive arches, connects to the cultural symbology of the arch as a threshold for initiation and re-newel. We pass under the arch and are transformed.

The length of each arch in Somewhere Under the Rainbow represents measurements of “World re-newable energy consumption from 2010-17 in million metric tons of oil equivalent”. Each arch represents a year’s consumption, the smallest arch being 2010 moving up to the largest, being 2017. Each millimetre of length in each arch equates to approximately 22 MARS Gallery buildings’ worth of oil.

The sculpture is powered by re-newable energy, in this case solar power (rainbows themselves being solar effects in conjunction with water). Four solar panels draw energy from the sun run to batteries then through to power the LED lights in the 7 arches of the rainbow.

The arches of Somewhere Under the Rainbow increase in size as we pass through them, opening out to the increasing uptake of sustainable power. Now is a crucial time for transformation- if our dreams of a sustainable future really come true our uptake of renewable energy needs to expand even more.

Made with the generous assistance from: Jason Maher, Steve Howden, Carl Millard, & John Power

Part of ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2019 23 April–19 May, a socially-engaged festival of exhibitions, theatre works, keynote lectures, events and artist talks considering climate change impacts and the challenges and opportunities arising from climate change. For more information: www.artclimatechange.org