Adam Gunn

Ruin value (second version)

2019

In his book Now or Never naturalist Tim Flannery describes a vision of a world with a dead purple ocean and a poisonous green sky. This is a world where warming has melted the ice ca...

In his book Now or Never naturalist Tim Flannery describes a vision of a world with a dead purple ocean and a poisonous green sky. This is a world where warming has melted the ice caps and slowed down the circulation of the oceans so that they have become like a gigantic stagnant pond. This still oxygen depleted water will allow the proliferation of anoxygenic bacteria that will change the chemistry of the ocean making it poisonous to oxygen dependant life. These bacteria will also release hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere causing a mass extinction of animal and plant life on land. This stark yet colourful world will be sublimely beautiful, but there will be no one around to see it. This series of paintings depicts an imagining of our world after the catastrophic consequences of climate change through a reinterpretation of well-known images with a romantic sensibility towards nature. Romanticism was in part a reaction to the industrial revolution marked by a nostalgia for an untouched natural world and a reverence for its overwhelming power. Ironically the spread and continuation of that industrialism is predicted to set in motion a new version of nature that will completely overpower the human world as we know it. With these thoughts in mind, I’ve sourced some paintings associated with the romantic movement and removed the human figures from them – the only evidence of people are the decaying ruins left behind in this uncanny green and purple landscape. I’ve also referenced some photographs from the Apollo moon missions that are thought to have influenced the beginning of modern environmental awareness. The starting point for this series of paintings was Arnold Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead...

In his book Now or Never naturalist Tim Flannery describes a vision of a world with a dead purple ocean and a poisonous green sky. This is a world where warming has melted the ice ca...

In his book Now or Never naturalist Tim Flannery describes a vision of a world with a dead purple ocean and a poisonous green sky. This is a world where warming has melted the ice ca...

Summer Lawn (Elegant Collage of Three Female Figures Playing Croquet) by Olan Quattro 2025, gouache, paper, and acrylic on wood panel, 24 x 18 inches Olan Quattro's subtle and sophi...

Nesting Season (Whimsical Collage of Female Figure and Birds in the Forest) by Olan Quattro 2025, gouache, paper, and acrylic on wood panel, 16 x 12 inches Olan Quattro's subtle and...

This painting was inspired by the combination of nature alongside a very modern building. I loved the addition of the straight lines alongside the more organic forms of the landscape...

Wood for the trees by Rebecca Tucker [2021] original and hand signed by the artist Acrylic on wooden panel Image size: H:51 cm x W:51 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:51x51 cm x...