2024

GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL EXHIBITION

MARCIA CRUMLEY

MARCIA CRUMLEY

(Cape Elizabeth, Maine)

Lost to the Sea

encaustic, collaged navigational maps, 24 x 24 inches

Price: $1800 + $65 shipping fee

Artist Statement:

The Gulf of Maine, 36,000 square miles of water stretching from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. Three times as fast, according to one study. Water temperatures in the Gulf matter because it is home to rare whales, the Atlantic puffin, core fish stocks such as cod and haddock, and the $1.5 billion U.S. lobster industry.

In January of 2024, a storm surge at high tide destroyed two iconic fishing shacks that had stood on Fishermen’s Point in South Portland, Maine since the late 1800s. Originally built to store fishing gear, they had come to serve as the setting for countless marriage proposals and milestone celebrations. They were also a frequent subject for photographers and painters. Widely shared videos showing the buildings being toppled and swallowed by the angry seas created a surge of nostalgia.

My painting captures one of the shacks as it is being swept away. I embedded navigational charts of Casco Bay into the walls and piers to symbolize the structure being claimed by the waters.

Although many have pushed to rebuild the shacks, I feel Fishermen’s Point should remain empty, serving as a stark reminder that things cannot go back to the way they were before global warming. Unless drastic policy changes are made, more and more of our coast, and our way of life, will be lost to the sea.

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