Still time to “Stop Look Listen” about climate change at an East Boston gallery
By hola | Published | No Comments
There’s still time to catch “Stop Look Listen,” a climate change-inspired art exhibition, before it closes on Nov. 29. Alberto Roblest and Richard Dorff collaborated to create the exposition of video projections and sculptural objects on display at the Atlantic Works Gallery in East Boston, a neighborhood already experiencing coastal flooding related to rising sea levels.
Since the exhibition opened on Nov. 1, Roblest says he has been surprised by the positive feedback he has received.
“The exhibition was a surprise, especially because of the warm reception it has received and the emotions it evokes,” says Roblest, who is also Hola Cultura’s president.
“Stop Look Listen” has coincided with the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, which ran from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21. Bringing together representatives from over 190 countries, the conference discussed issues surrounding the climate crisis.
While COP30 operated on a global scale, “Stop Look Listen” makes the climate crisis local and intimate to residents of Boston, where climate change is already leading to flooding and urban heat island conditions that are expected to grow worse in the future. This month, the exhibition has worked in tandem with the conference to draw people’s attention to the environment.
“Some visitors told me that the work impacts them because it makes them reflect on the environment, something that doesn’t usually happen in Boston galleries,” Roblest says.
Highlighting the exhibition’s theme, “Stop Look Listen” is environmentally friendly, too. It does not utilize any of the gallery’s artificial lighting. The only light comes from the pieces: they are projected on a television, glowing with their own light, or situated on a windowsill where natural light can fall through. This choice was made to conserve energy, as Dorff mentioned at the reception on Nov. 1.
“We have this really elaborate kind of lighting system, so the idea was to not use sources of power. It’s a minor statement. We won’t depend upon these things,” Dorff says.
Roblest says he and Dorff are both concerned about the environment and encourage others to do the same.
“We shared this idea that we have to do something. We are artists. We do not protest; we are not scientists; we are artists. We make art about this problem. Let’s respect our planet, our nature,” Roblest says.
“Stop Look Listen” will be on display at 80 Border Street in East Boston through this Saturday, Nov. 29.
– Story by Caleigh Askintowicz
– Copy edited by Kami Waller
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