For many, global crises (whether economic, climate, social, political etc.), elicit a feeling of either anxiety or indifference, owing to its omnipresence in mass media and it’s “undying” nature. Climate change, for instance, is an ongoing issue. It produces a gruelling, repetitive anxiety of an apocalyptic world that is yet to engulf, that refuses to change, and is utterly humankind’s fault. This mix of anthropocentric guilt and an “undying present”, sustains attitudes of either chronic anxiety, or indifference (as a defence-mechanism). Both of these reactions are impractical in combating global issues.

Ensnared suggests a solution to these attitudes through a “reassessment of the present”. Instead of repeatedly anticipating an absolute catastrophe, this exhibition insists that we should refine our understanding of the time we live in: we have already experienced catastrophe, we live within crisis, and we are anticipating disaster. By accepting what we have lost, and recognising and appreciating what we still have, we appreciate a position in history where we can still make substantial change. That is, we become “unsnared” from the undying present and restore feelings that effectively motivate the adaptation and sustainability required to mend our world.