Our Roots,
Our Forest

They are the oldest ecosystems on land - survivors of the last Ice Age, banks of biodiversity vital to the well-being of the planet, disposers of CO2, regulators of both flood and drought and sources of food, fuel and medicine.
They are our rainforests.

So why are we destroying them?

This exhibition is a creative response to that question - a call to action to care for what we have - and take steps, big or small, to rebuild hope in the battle against the climate crisis.
Southeast Asia suffers one of the highest rates of deforestation anywhere.
Eight ASEAN countries are among 50 hardest hit by the climate crisis, including Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand.

In the Mekong, we are up against major challenges: big business and governments making money from our shared resources and turning a blind eye to the damage caused to our climate/environment.
From communities displaced by a gold mine in Myanmar to illegal poaching and logging in the Cardamom mountains of Cambodia and the expulsion of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands in Thailand, this is a region where our voices are often shut down.

Inspired by The Pulitzer Center Crisis reporting in Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. The artists here use different mediums and disciplines; from films and illustrations to paintings and photography, to ignite a conversation about the past, present and the future of Southeast Asia’s rainforests.
This is a conversation involving us all - irrespective of age and background - these are our roots and our forests. It is our challenge to protect them.

Our Roots, Our Forest unravels across three country specific Viewing Rooms - presenting thought-provoking, environmental degradation focussed artworks in a range of representation, spanning across different disciplines.

Opening images: (i) Sean Gallagher (ii) Sean Gallagher (iii) Nehru Pry (iv) Gerald Flynn (v) Gerald Flynn