The Martello Tower in Dublin’s Blackrock is to be wrapped with a solar-powered “line of light”, showing possible future sea levels as part of a series around the Irish coast.
The “Línte na Farraige” (Lines of the Sea) project, which was initiated at Galway’s Spanish Arch and in Wexford harbour last year, is designed by Finnish artists, Pekka Niittyvirta and Timo Aho.
The project is financed from the inaugural Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
The fund “supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations”.
The art installation at the Martello tower in Blackrock Park, which will be lit early next week, consists of a solar-powered horizontal LED line of light.
It shows the future risks of rising seas and storm surges, in the year 2100 and under a high-risk scenario, where ice loss from Antarctica is greater than expected.
The installation is based on future predictions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report AR6, and historic storm surge data in Dublin Bay.
Project artists Pekka Niittyvirta and Timo Aho said that “art has the potential to convey scientific data, complex ideas and concepts, in a powerful way that words or graphs fall short of”.
“Visualising something that is incomprehensible for a human, even with the factual studies and data available when talking about causality and climate change, is difficult. We seem to be unable to accept things we have not physically experienced,”they said.
Councillor Mary Hanafin, Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said the Línte na Farraige project “ is a unique, yet stark reminder, that our seas are silently rising, and will continue to do so, undetectable to the naked eye”.
“ The Government’s national Climate Action Plan 2023 speaks to ambition that will only work if we all come together in a strengthened ‘social contract’ for climate action, working towards real solutions that are meaningful, inclusive, fair and accessible,”she said.
“ By working together, we can all help ‘lower the line’. I wish to thank the artists, the National Monuments Service, the Creative Climate Action programme and the wider project team for bringing this installation to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council,”she said.
Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said he is “delighted that the council is a local authority partner in the Línte na Farraige project”.
“ I believe that as we all work towards our 2030 and 2050 climate action targets, local authorities can be at the heart of this ambition, given our close links with local communities, our role in emergency response planning and our ongoing partnership with various Government departments and agencies,”he said.
The installation will run for a number of months from Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023. The council is also running an associated outdoor, public exhibition on the Línte na Farraige project at Moran Park, dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire.
Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin said she hoped that the installation “will generate a much-needed dialogue about rising sea levels”.
“While it should give us all pause for thought, it must be remembered that the future is still in our hands. By making key changes in our personal behaviour we can mitigate against climate change and sea level rise and build a more sustainable and resilient future for us all,” she said.
Línte na Farraige involves a team including creators and artists, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, scientists based at Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University and University College Cork.
Also involved is the Dublin Climate Action Regional Office, Wexford County Council, Galway City Council, Fingal County Council, and the Marine Institute.
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