Chronicle of an Extinction Foretold I 2021
In a darkened room we see a large table, consisting of three contiguous flat screens, like a triptych. On the screens a world map in 3D is shown, populated with all kinds of people (farmers, migrants, tourists, demonstrators, gangs, soldiers, ...), objects (pickup trucks, tanks, yes-marbles, factories, ...) and natural phenomena (forest fires, hurricanes, etc.).
The images are accompanied by a date counter: from January 1, 2000, till December 31, 2100. Every twenty minutes, the computer calculates a simulation of how the planet will change over the century based on climate change projection data. Chronicle of an Extinction Foretold is an installation that shows an overview of developments and interactions in one overall picture. The program has incorporated the data from the 6th climate report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations) combined with other databases and predictions made by scientists and futurologists, such as plausible conflicts and migration streams.
The installation Chronicle of an Extinction Foretold works in the style of strategic video games with references to Eastern landscape drawings and Northern European Renaissance paintings such as those by Bosch and Bruegel.
Credits:
Script storyboard, directing: Frank Theys
Animation: NAIVI and Polygoat
Soundscape: Peter Vermeersch
Table construction: Alain Langlois (SA & Partners)
Interactif system: NAIVI
Production assistant: Filip Keunen
Scientific advice:
Prof. dr. Wim Thierry, climate scientist at the VUB
Sebastian Hendrik Sterl, PhD researcher in Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering at the VUB
Inne Vanderkelen, PhD researcher in Climatology at the VUB
Roger Housen, Col. (Ret.) of the Belgian Ground Forces and expert in security and conflict studies related to climate change at the NATO headquarters
A coproduction by Escautville, European Cultural Foundation, Huis v/d Mens and Z33. With the support of the Flemish Government and the Flemish Community Commission Brussels.
The installation was screened or exhibited at:
• Z33, Hasselt (BE): 26/11/2021 - 09/01/2022
• BOZAR, Brussel (BE): June 2022
Chronicle of an Extinction Foretold is acquired by the Flemish government and part of the collection of the M HKA Antwerp.