The ‘HURT EARTH’ series of light projections by artist Jenny Holzer made a splash in Los Angeles in June 2022. The public artwork—consisting of light projections, LED signs, and billboards—continues to call for urgent climate action.
The public art installations amplify the demands of those who are most vulnerable to the climate crisis. They include representatives of climate-vulnerable peoples such as Ugandan environmental rights activist Hilda Flavia Nakabuye; and testimonies from the 55-nation Climate Vulnerable Forum that advocates for countries in the Global South facing the worst impacts of the planetary crisis.
The Agam Agenda continues to be a creative partner with Jenny Holzer in this global call. During the Los Angeles run of HURT EARTH, billboards featured the poem “Cuando todo acabe” (“When Everything Ends”) by Shirley Campbell Barr, Costa Rican poet and activist, published in the anthology Harvest Moon: Poems and Stories from the Edge of the Climate Crisis.
Video projections at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles © 2022 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photos: Steven Calcote
Padmapani L. Perez, lead strategist of the Agam Agenda says:
“We are proud of our continued collaboration with the artist Jenny Holzer, who has beautifully crafted poetic interventions for these pressing times. In HURT EARTH, Jenny Holzer names the poets and leaders whose words she places in her light projections. By naming them, she honors their work, makes visible their experiences, and amplifies their demands for our hurting planet. We need more artists to work respectfully and in solidarity with the most climate-vulnerable peoples of the world.”
Light projections, Los Angeles © 2022 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photos: Larry Hammerness
HURT EARTH L.A. also featured quotes of visionaries, writers, and artists, such as Greta Thunberg, Bill McKibben, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Light projections also followed outdoor summer film screenings by Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
