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Immersive art piece shows impact of climate change

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Date: 04 Nov 2021

Category: Climate and biodiversity


Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor Kate Nicholl joined artist Zippy Reynolds and Anna Leckey from Three’s Theatre Company beside the poignant art installation ‘That Sinking Feeling’ at City Hall. The immer

Belfast City Council has commissioned Three’s Theatre Company to create a temporary art installation called ‘That Sinking Feeling’ to demonstrate how vulnerable the city of Belfast is to climate change.

The art piece coincides with COP26 - the UN’s Climate Conference and will be at various locations across the city from Saturday 6 November.

The eye-catching, wheelchair-accessible box, constructed by Escapade HQ and decorated by local street artist, Zippy Reynolds, becomes a five-minute immersive experience when someone stands inside.

Water slowly rises between two glass panels to the sound of a climate-based audio collage narrated by Anna Leckey and produced by Katie Richardson. The combined sound and vision experience highlights key climate information while creating a feeling of being under water.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl, who is championing action on climate change during her term in office, has welcomed the project saying, “As part of Council’s #OneWeeThing campaign, our aim is to shine a light on the stories and efforts of people in Belfast who are doing their bit to ignite the climate conversation.

“This innovative art installation is doing just that - it is engaging, educational and provides people in Belfast with the opportunity to get a glimpse into the future of our coastal city if we don’t take action on climate now.”

Councillor Nicholl added: “As well as creating a dialogue about climate change, the project aims to enable a sharing of ideas and encourages people to pledge personal changes with participants being asked to pen their thoughts on luggage tags which will be attached to the box. The project is just one way of continuing the climate conversation with the people of Belfast and highlights that we need to collectively tackle the climate crisis for the future protection of our city.”

Anna Leckey from Three’s Theatre Company said, “We set out to create something eye-catching and memorable that would prompt conversations. We are aware of how impactful art as a medium can be, so it was a brilliant opportunity for us to create an immersive experience that creates a meaningful connection with climate change and it is a great way to drive conversations about global warming.”

That Sinking Feeling will be available to visit at locations across Belfast until 12 November, the last day of COP26. 

For information on hosting a visit to your venue or school after 12 November please email culture@belfastcity.gov.uk

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