A red giant is a star in the last stage of stellar evolution, when it increases its radius and
changes its colour to red hues. It has luminosity up to three thousand times that of other
stars. In about 5 billion years, the Sun will enter this phase, probably engulfing the closest
planets in the solar system – Mercury, Venus and Earth. The end of our planet is therefore
only a matter of time.
The inevitable catastrophe casts a shadow over the future of Earth. We are used to
apocalyptic visions shown in pop culture, science fiction and computer games. Before the
ultimate demise, however, we will have to face the process of climate change and its
consequences, which are increasingly noticeable. Droughts, fires and water shortages will
change the availability of livelihoods and the production of consumer goods. This in turn
will lead to a redefinition of social relations, directly influencing the political and
economic decisions of individual countries. Our apparent familiarity with the upcoming
catastrophe effectively thwarts any attempts to change the situation, which requires
radical steps.
How to survive the disaster? Stop reproducing? Change habits? Stop buying? Store water?
Make a revolution? Build a shelter? Each scenario returns like a boomerang, everyone
seems to be wrong. Shelters are mementoes of conflicts and arms races. The Cold War
infrastructure was created with a view to a future after the explosion of the nuclear bomb.
The now-archaic buildings were supposed to save selected leaders and politicians, less
often ordinary people. Having been drilled into individualism, we prefer to fight the crisis
alone, not in solidarity with others, although we are well aware that wars cannot be won
by individuals.
Zuza Golińska’s Red Giant refers to her previous project called Suns, which also addresses
the spectre of a climate catastrophe. Golińska’s strategy of work is based on using waste
products from manufacturing plants whose future is uncertain. The days of shipyards,
mines and factories are numbered, automation is replacing manual labour. The artist
cooperates with skilled workers, using their knowledge and expertise. Perhaps in the near
future they will be worth their weight in gold.
The totemic forms of Golińska’s steel works trigger associations with the prehistoric solar
deities. Before the Neolithic revolution, which accelerated the development of human
civilisation, tribesmen used to bow to the likes of these. Neither the revolution nor life on
Earth as such would have been possible without solar energy. The Neolithic gave rise to
agriculture and animal husbandry, i.e. production and consumption. The Latin word
consumere means to destroy, rob, conquer. After the heyday of capitalism, modern
overproduction and compulsive consumption refer us to the original meaning of the word.
Curated by Joanna Kobyłt
Courtesy of the artist and Wrocław Contemporary Museum
Photocredit Małgorzata Kujda