Reflection

Climate change impacts every animal in various ways. Whether through the change in habitat, the loss of food, or the introduction of pollution, many species suffer due to our negligence. The constant flow of commentary surrounding climate change has rendered many numb to the impending consequences of their actions. Through this artwork, we hope to convey the serious topic of climate change using situational irony to catch people’s attention and bring a greater sense of urgency to solving this crisis. This group was composed of five members who each developed a visual narrative based on the overall theme of a salon environment. We addressed the prompt with these answers: “putting a penguin on a diet,” “tanning a seal,” “dyeing an arctic fox,” “waxing a whale,” and “giving a polar bear a fur coat.” Through the use of these analogies, we were able to put a satirical spin on the impacts of climate change. Because increasing ocean temperature have reduced penguins’ food sources, the first part of the series depicts the irony of penguins going on a diet. The warming of the atmosphere is leaving many walruses without their natural habitat, leaving them to overheat on the shore. This is demonstrated by a human giving a walrus a tan in a tanning bed. Next, climate change is affecting the tundra habitat by melting ice and snow. As a result, arctic foxes are unable to camouflage, putting them at risk of predators and rendering them unable to catch prey. This is portrayed by a human dyeing an arctic fox’s fur red, representing an eventual loss of a once valuable trait. Moreover, whales are naturally insulated by a thick layer of blubber under their skin and can only survive in cold temperatures; this scene conveys a whale that is forced to be covered in wax, preventing it from maintaining its ideal body temperature. Finally, sea ice melting has threatened polar bears’ search for food, causing many to starve; the last scene illustrates a person placing a fur coat over a skinny polar bear, finding irony in overheating the polar bear.