YUCATAN PENINSULA’S HIDDEN WATERS
Project Pressure is conducting important fieldwork benefitting local communities and protecting MPAs.
80% of the world’s sewage is discharged into the environment untreated1. In Tulum on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico untreated wastewater enters the underground freshwater aquifer and flows to the Mesoamerican reef in the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)2. Wastewater pollutes ecosystems along the way, and ultimately, the excess nutrients reach the ocean and kill corals, devastate fisheries and contribute to climate change.
The goal of this project is to mitigate climate change and reduce harm to established MPAs and nature reserves by influencing policy, regulatory framework, construction methods, and water management. But we still face significant data gaps. That’s why Project Pressure is working here—on the ground, diving deeper into this incredible landscape, collecting and analyzing data from aerial surveys, cave divers’ maps, topographical charts, and satellite imagery. This forms the backbone of a cutting-edge Geographic Information System (GIS) project. Our mission? To create a comprehensive map and establish a foundational understanding of this vital area, unlocking the mysteries beneath the surface.
We’re pushing the boundaries by using thermal satellite imagery and drones to detect temperature differences in the jungle—searching for access points to the submerged caves hidden below. The darker purples in the image indicate cooler temperatures, suggesting possible openings into the aquifer system.
This is work in progress—a crucial step in our efforts to combat pollution and safeguard these fragile ecosystems. The data we gather will play a key role in shaping the future of this incredible environment and will power our advocacy efforts for sustainable solutions.
Peter Funch, at Fotografisk Center Copenhagen
Project Pressure is thrilled to announce the opening of “The Imperfect Atlas,” a solo exhibition by the esteemed artist Peter Funch at the Fotografisk Center, part of the Copenhagen Photo Festival. This exhibition, running from June 1 to August 11, 2024, powerfully aligns with Project Pressure’s mission to address ecological and climate issues through the intersection of art, science, and activism.
Parts of The Imperfect Atlas was supported and co-developed by Project Pressure during the earlier stages and Project Pressure curated the works and chose a small selection which was included in the travelling exhibition MELTDOWN.
Peter Funch’s “The Imperfect Atlas” is a profound exploration of climate change, focusing on the Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier regions. As a range of other Project Pressure artists, Funch uses photographic techniques to document the drastic changes these landscapes undergo due to human impact. His work integrates historical images with contemporary photography to create a compelling narrative about environmental transformation and the urgency of climate action.
Project Pressure, with over 15 years of experience, has been at the forefront of creating interdisciplinary projects that drive environmental awareness and action. We have partnered with leading organizations like the World Glacier Monitoring Service and NASA, and our projects have received recognition from prestigious bodies such as the Queen of Denmark and Arts Council England.
The exhibition runs from June 1 to August 11, 2024 see https://www.fotografiskcenter.dk/ for details
Nominated for EARTH PHOTO 2023
Klaus Thymann of Project Pressure was working in Svalbard researching beluga whales and the team created a short film about the project. We are honored, it has been nominated for the Earth Photo Prize. This work and all other nominated is on show at the Royal Geographical Society – the project was supported by Parajumpers.
Project Pressure’s exhibition MELTDOWN opens at KühlhausBerlin
Since 2008, the climate change charity Project Pressure has been commissioning world-renowned artists to conduct expeditions to document changes to the world’s vanishing glaciers.
Featuring images from all seven continents, the exhibited works range in scale from the planetary level to the microscopic biological impact, with artistic interpretations giving an unique insight into the world’s cryosphere, its fragile ecosystem, and our changing global climate.
The series of artworks includes artist Peter Funch’s use of vintage postcards as a model for his images of American glaciers to capture the effects of glacial recession; Norfolk + Thymann’s images of part of the Rhône glacier covered in geo-thermal cloth to limit melting; Richard Mosse’s photograph of the ice cave under the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland; and Noémie Goudal’s large-scale photographic installation mirroring the shifting glacial landscape, printed on biodegradable paper.
The show will open on February 17th 2023 – please join us!
MELTDOWN: Visualising Climate Change
17 February – 5 March 2023
OPENING HOURS
Tuesday – Saturday
12.00 – 18.00
Kühlhaus Berlin, Luckenwalder Straße 3, 10963 Berlin, Germany
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Join for the panel talks…
MELTDOWN – Visualizing Climate Change opening February 17th 2023 at Kühlhaus Berlin
Save the date: MELTDOWN – Visualizing Climate Change opening February 17th 2023 at Kühlhaus Berlin
After recently being on show at The Nelson Provincial Museum in New Zealand, MELTDOWN continues its journey – this time to Berlin.
MELTDOWN has travelled the world during the last few years, educating gallery and museum visitors on the always-current topic of human-induced climate change. This time the show will become even more interactive, as Kühlhaus Berlin together with Project Pressure will be hosting debate evenings, artists dinners and artists talk. All to be taking place between the 17th of February and the 5th of March 2023.
You are invited to contribute
Right now, we are working on the talks and debate programme for this exhibition, and we are more than happy for you to share your ideas and recommendations on speakers and participants. We encourage you to get in touch with klaus@project-pressure.org to discuss any further ideas.
About Kühlhaus Berlin
Kühlhaus Berlin is not only a German cultural landmark. Established as an event space and art gallery, and changing and evolving constantly since the nineties, they have become a listed building. With a space of more than five thousand square meters, they are famous for hosting world-class exhibitions.
MELTDOWN: Visualizing Climate Change
Where: Kühlhaus Berlin, Luckenwalder Strasse, 10963 Berlin
Exhibition Dates: February 17th – March 5th 2023. Weekdays 10.00 – 17.00
MELTDOWN continues its journey in New Zealand, where rivers have rights
Just as our travelling exhibition MELTDOWN closes in Ljubljana, the locally produced and sustainably distributed exhibition continues its journey in New Zealand. On June 3 it opened to the public after being sailed to its second New Zealand location, Nelson Provincial Museum.
Apart from being one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral future, New Zealand was the first to grant natural resource legal rights. In 2017 the Whanganui River was granted legal rights equal to humans, meaning, harming nature legally equals harming local communities. The legal and philosophical shift is essential – instead of treating nature as a resource and from a perspective of ownership and management, we treat it equally as an essential part of a whole.
The same philosophy can be found in our exhibition MELTDOWN Visualising Climate Change. It runs as a thread throughout the production, distribution and central theme. The exhibition focuses on human-induced climate change. It sailed from the North Island in New Zealand (Te Ika-a-Māu), from the museum Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt, to the South Island (Te Waipounamu), where it is shown at Nelson Provincial Museum
MELTDOWN: Visualizing Climate Change
Where: The Nelson Provincial Museum, Trafalgar and Hardy Streets, Nelson Central, Nelson
Exhibition Dates: Friday 3 June to Sunday 2 October 10am – 5pm weekdays 10am – 4.30pm weekend
MELTDOWN sets sails – our show will sail from New Zealand’s North to South Island
The exhibition has been shown all over the world and the show will open for the public later this week at WHIRINAKI WHARE TAONGA located on the North Island, next the locally produced exhibition is set to sail from the North Island in New Zealand (Te Ika-a-Māu) to the South Island (Te Waipounamu).
After the show closes on 8th of May, a boat will take the entire exhibition on its journey from the first New Zealand Museum to the second in the South Island.
MELTDOWN is a sustainably produced and distributed exhibition tour. We have calculated all traveling, the material used in the exhibition – including the wooden frames, and carbon offset it all. MELTDOWN is also on show at this moment in Ljubljana.
Did you know? Since 2008 Project Pressure’s website has been hosted on servers powered by renewable energy.
How much CO2 is your favorite website producing?
The internet consumes an extreme amount of electricity, something that is often looked away from. Approximately 416.2TWh every year. To give you some perspective, that’s more than the entire United Kingdom. In fact, a site with 100,000 page views per month emits as much as 2,112kg of CO2 every year. Read more.
Curious to see how much CO2 your own or your favourite website emits? Check out the online carbon calculator. Initiate change – ask them to host their sites on servers powered by renewable energy.
What? MELTDOWN: Visualising Climate Change’ is a narrative on the importance of the world’s glaciers, and the impact climate change has on them, through the prism of art, photography, and film. Featuring work from every relevant continent on the planet, from over 10 international artists, the exhibition leads the viewer on a scientific, illustrative, and poetic journey of climate change and its devastating consequences.
Where? WHIRINAKI WHARE TAONGA. 836 FERGUSSON DRIVE, UPPER HUTT
When? From 26 Feb until May 8 2022
Free entry, no booking required
Travelling exhibition MELTDOWN to open after flooding
MELTDOWN – Visualizing the Climate Crisis by Project Pressure opening on the 18th of January at Galerija Jakopic, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Opening times: Tue – Sun, 10.00 am – 6.00 pm. Guided tours available.
MELTDOWN was originally scheduled to open in late 2021, but severe flooding in Ljubljana and across Europe caused by a record rainfall meant the gallery needed some work. A climate change exhibition suffering from climate crisis flooding – the irony is not lost on us. This sends a topical message about the urgency of the climate crisis, making this exhibition even more current.
MELTDOWN uses art as a positive touch-point for engaging with climate change. Glacier mass loss can be directly attributed to global heating and is therefore a key indicator of human induced climate change. The exhibition is an artistic narrative of the importance of glaciers told in a scientific, illustrative and poetic way and each artist has a unique take on the subject.
The exhibition has previously been shown at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London and the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
Featured artists are: Renate Aller (DE), Corey Arnold (US), Michael Benson (US), Broomberg & Chanarin (RSA/UK), Edward Burtynsky (CA), Scott Conarroe (CA), Peter Funch (DK), Noémie Goudal (FR), Adam Hinton (UK), Richard Mosse (IRE), Simon Norfolk (NG), Christopher Parsons (UK), Erik Schytt Holmlund (SE), Toby Smith (UK) and Klaus Thymann (DK).
Your voice leads to action – petition to classify greenhouse gases as pollutants
We all know that greenhouse gases pollute our planet. So why are the not regulated as pollutants?
What we call things matter. We should call toxic greenhouse gases, such as Carbon dioxide and methane, what they really are: climate change pollutants, causing mass destruction, affecting both ecological systems and the livelihood of people around the globe
This linguistic change is crucial, as it can have far-reaching impact and prompt drastic systemic change. A legally-binding classification of these gases will push governments to drastically alter legislation, enforcing a stricter regulation on both public sector and corporate emissions.
Your voice matters. Our collective voice matter. The engagement and visible commitment from people around the world is crucial for attracting the attention of governments.
Let the politicians know that you hold them accountable – SIGN THE PETITION TODAY
THE PETITION
Launching on public activism platform Change.org and its wording reads:
“I, a concerned citizen, worried about the destructive and polluting nature of toxic greenhouse gases, demand that they be classified as pollutants.
I implore my government to classify them as such, empowering it to take action against their emission and take a leading global role in encouraging other countries to follow suit.”
Stay tuned as Project Pressure releases a vital petition
Project Pressure is launching a petition to classify greenhouse gases, in particular CO2 and Methane, as pollutants. The petition will launch alongside Street Level Photoworks’ exhibition Forever Changes in Glasgow.
Forever Changes brings together a range of artists from Nordic countries whose work aligns with climate change and protection of the planet. Forever Changes starts on October 30 and runs until January 30, 2022. The exhibition is a call to action and addresses the urgent need for action.
Stay tuned for the petition as it will launch soon.