Climate Portrait

Wellington artist Artist Tatyana Kulida is creating a body of work painting live portraits of individuals who work on climate change research and mitigation. For the last year and a half she has been researching Antarctic scientific methods and climate change significance, reading, watching documentaries, interviewing scientists, and building her vision for how this project can share the scientific discoveries with the public so that they can benefit from science through the visual stories of the sitters.

The portraits she is working on represent the diverse scientific community with geologist Peter Barrett, paleoclimatologist Nancy Bertler, sea ice researcher Pat Langhorne, and many others,, policy maker and Climate Change Minister James Shaw, and local activists like a Māori biodynamic grower and young high school youth leader. While all the sitters have an overlapping concern for our planet’s future, each of them has their own story to tell about climate change work and how they’ve chosen to address the issues at hand. 

Whilst Dr Jane was in Wellington she was able to take time to sit for Tatyana for this project. The result is incredibly special.

The end goal of the project is a series of exhibitions, including at DOC and the Parliament exhibition space Bowen House. Through the stories told in the portraits, relevant artifacts, and the melting sculpture of Antarctica Tatyana is hoping to share the urgency for climate change mitigation with the general public and inspire action on all levels, from the government to the individual.