‘Soon it would be too hot.’

This is the first line of J.G. Ballard’s sci-fi novel, The Drowned World.

My current PhD research is driven by the key question: In what ways have contemporary artists responded to Ballard’s novel and what issues do they raise?

With this in mind, I have invited 5 Australian artists: Gosia Wlodarczak, Jon Cattapan, Janet Tavener, Roy Ananda and Kate Mitchell, to join me in making artwork in response to imagery and themes found in The Drowned World (TDW).

This group exhibition, Mapping The Drowned World, will be held at SCA Galleries: October 8-31, 2015.

Opening: Wednesday, October 7, 6-8pm.

Written in 1962, during the perpetual slow-burning crisis of the Cold War, The Drowned World reads like a prescient vision of climate change.

As a bridge between the post-war apocalyptic fears of the recent past and current eschatological anxieties, The Drowned World (TDW) is a potentially rich source of inspiration for contemporary artists.

The work in progress above is my second response to this novel. The first can be seen here.