Amy Balkin’s “A People’s Archive of Sinking and Melting” on view at the Prelinger Library
January 13, 2014
Amy Balkin’s A People’s Archive of Sinking and Melting, which was recently part of Ballroom’s group show Quiet Earth, is currently on view at the Prelinger Library in San Francisco. the work displays Balkin’s collection of “artifacts documenting the impact of climate change on society worldwide.”
These “artifacts” range from discarded ephemera to souvenirs and include everything from a used candy wrapper to a magnet from Antarctica. Although each object is disparate from its neighbor, Balkin notes in the description of the project that they are all gathered “from places that may disappear owing to the combined physical, political, and economic impacts of climate change.” The artist presents each object catalogued and archived meticulously as if they were rare historical objects, because one day they may well be.
Fortunately, the exhibition is also thoroughly documented on the project’s tumblr, so even if you’re stuck in a polar vortex and unable to get to the Bay Area,