PHIL MAXWELL

The seagull in this image is a metaphor for what is happening to the climate in the world today. Although they appear to be thriving research has shown seagulls to be in rapid decline. In the UK they are on the red list – the highest level – for British bird species of concern, because their population has dropped by 72% in 55 years!

When I made this work I imagined the bird flying over Pacific Islands where climate change is an existential threat to the people living there that could lead to the risk of displacement and migration. This ‘forced’ migration means the loss of ancestral homelands, unique and lasting ties to land, and vital cultural identities.

It’s estimated that 49 million people in East Asia and the Pacific will be forced to flee their homes due to climate change by 2050.

It’s our world economic system – capitalism – that has brought this about. It’s a system that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing – hence the bar code on the seagulls wing.