Jennifer Monson describes herself as an ‘experimental dance artist’.  Her interest is in exploring the use of the human body to explore the dynamic relationship between humans, art, nature and the environment.

In order to take her vision further and to support her own work, she founded iLAND – Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art, Nature and Dance. The aim is to investigate the power of dance, in collaboration with other fields, to explore issues of environmental sustainability as it relates to art and the urban context.  The organization cultivates cross-disciplinary research among artists, environmentalists, scientists, urban designers and other fields.

In her first project, BIRDBRAIN, Jennifer followed the migratory pathways of birds and other animals while exploring their relationship to humans as world travelers and navigators. The project consisted of free, site-specific outdoor performances, workshops for students and the public, panel discussions on migration, navigation, and conservation, and a website that tracked the migrating birds and dancers participating in the project.

Subsequent projects have included collaborations that address the urban environment and issues of urban migration, human interventions in natural spaces and the dependence of local communities on local aquifers.

The idea of incorporating dance into multidisciplinary projects addressing environmental issues is no doubt effective in getting public engagement through free, public performances. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all dance our way into a rosy future.

The exhibit “sets out to consider the impact of climate change, and our transition to a new world, on the practice of a broad range of contemporary artists, working in a wide-variety of media.”  It is encouraging that an institution like the Royal Academy has chosen to address environmental issues in a major exhibit and that it has showcased the work of so many contemporary artists addressing these issues. Chris Jordan and Edward Burtynsky were two of the artists featured in the exhibit.

However, for me, Lemn Sissay’s poem performed on video was one of the more powerful works in the exhibit.

You can view the video here and the text of the poem is reproduced below.

A lost number in the equation
A simple, understandable miscalculation
And what if on the basis of that
The world as we know it changed its matter of fact

Let me get it right. What if we got it wrong?
What if we weakened ourselves getting strong?
What if we found in the ground a file of proof?
What if the foundations missed a vital truth?
What if the industrial dream sold us out from within?
What if our unpunishable defense sealed us in?
What if our wanted more was making less?
And what if all of this wasn’t progress?

Let me get it right. What if we got it wrong?
What if we weakened ourselves getting strong?
What if our wanting more was making less?
And what if all of this wasn’t progress?
What if the disappearing rivers of Eritrea,
the rising tides and encroaching fear
What if the tear inside the protective skin
of Earth was trying to tell us something?

Let me get it right. What if we got it wrong?
What if we weakened ourselves getting strong?
What if the message carried in the wind was saying something?
From butterfly wings to the hurricane
It’s the small things that make great change
In the question towards the end of the leases
no longer the origin but the end of species

Let me get it right. What if we got it wrong?
What if the message carried in the wind was saying something?