Video images of Venice filmed during the devastating Acqua Alta/high waters that flooded the city in November and December 2019 are projected onto sculptural abstractions of shells.

In November and December 2019 during our residency at the Emily Harvey Foundation, we experienced the second and fourth highest Acqua Alta in recorded history. And four of the many that occurred at that time are included in the top ten. We witnessed the devastation suffered throughout the city to its inhabitants and their homes, possessions, beloved buildings and architectural masterpieces — as well as to businesses, shops, hotels and restaurants and cultural, religious and educational organizations. It has been a powerful and long lasting experience to viscerally feel the horrifying impact of climate change and man’s impact on the environment.

Venice is a treasure of Western Civilization, particularly the Renaissance. It also is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet the city and the lives of its inhabitants have been severely impacted and physically altered by the Acqua Alta from climate change, rising seas, the Sirocco and Bora winds, lunar tides, extraction of resources, dredging of channels in waterways for cruise boats and the escalation of tourism. The changes in sea level due to these factors have shocked every island in the Venetian lagoon.

Sea Change
2020
Video projection on archival board
6 1/2″H x 17 1/2W” x 16 1/2″
Videos of the Acqua Alta (high waters) are combined with a video of the ceiling of the Palazzo Grassi, a 16th century Venetian building that was flooded by the rising waters of the Grand canal in November and December 2019. This video was projected onto an abstracted shell — a form of sea life that is also threatened by the ravages of rising and warming seas due to climate change and man’s impact on the environment.