About the Website
This website is the virtual location of the 2015 installation: The Lost Defenders of the Environment, an ArtCOP21 event. The Lost Defenders project examines the lack of progressive action in response to the global struggle of a harrowing number of individuals, a great number whose perpetrators go unpunished.
By using a medium that is both ephemeral and temporary, we attempt to portray that these deaths may just as well be forgotten if the names of the victims do not become known during the COP21. The installation seeks to inspire action through the awareness of the shear number of known victims and convey that the struggle will continue until governments respond. Because the multitude of perspectives on and experiences with the climate crisis are not represented at the COP21, it is the people’s (civil society’s) responsibility to rise to action. While nationally sanctioned monuments traditionally commemorate those who perished in battle, this Nonmemorial is a tribute to the marginalized victims of often secret persecutions, revealing the staggering number of known deaths and disappearances resulting from systemic oppression; traumatic killings that are, in many cases, not recognized as crimes. The Nonmemorial is a digital film projection of names. It is mobile and fleeting so it derives its significance from what it is not. It is not a memorial; it is not permanent; it does not provide closure, nor is it indicative of justice. It can be anywhere because it is nowhere, and it is nothing until leaders/governments make the changes necessary to prevent more deaths of environmental activists.
About the Installation
The Lost Defenders of the Environment is a projection of the names and dates of death or enforced disappearance of environmental activists in thirty-nine different countries.
The film runs approximately 20 minutes long and is accompanied by narratives. We invite you to watch, project, share, and ultimately recognize the 991 individuals who were killed or disappeared from 2002 to 2014. While the installation is not a vigil, quiet observation or passing through is requested. Photography and sharing of The Lost Defenders is strongly encouraged; you will be witness to the only commemoration of environmental activists who sacrificed their safety and ultimately their lives, courageous mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, who are seldom seen in mass media or recognized for their dangerous plights around the world. While the earth grieves silently, these stories from the frontlines of environmental degradation will be heard in Paris during the COP21.
