I will show you how the mountains move under
our feet when the clouds stretch from the cloud
cover's unfiltered light gaze (2024)
Fascinated by how the concept of landscape has evolved over time and the way it influences how we see and feel a place, Peter Stridsberg reflects on the physical and mental dynamics triggered by the encounter between human and natural dimensions. In the installation conceived for this exhibition, the artist combines his artistic practice with his explorations of recent years, where human beings, the landscape and mountains meet. Seated on the sofa, the temporary inhabitant of this room can turn his/her gaze to the mountain landscape present in the video, or the one portrayed in the photograph. In doing so, the fictious encounter between the urban dimension and the natural context is evoked.
The work directly brings into play the condition of forced isolation experienced during the pandemic period, the sense of the impossible and, equally, the perceived need to be in direct contact with natural and outdoor environments, such as mountain spaces or city parks. In this sense, his work makes reference to two highly topical themes: “nature-deficit disorder” and “solastalgia”, both negative reactions generated by biological annihilation and the progressive extinction of experiences with nature. These conditions are part of the wider universe of those that have been indicated as “psychoterratic mental conditions” to describe emotional disorders – such as eco-anxiety and global fear – deriving from the sudden change in the state of health of the Earth and its ecosystems.
Anxious about Climate Change
The climate crisis, one of the greatest challenges of our time, is raising increasing disquiet and concern. In psychology and the social sciences, these emotional reactions have been analysed as an expression of eco-anxiety. Eco-anxiety is defined by the American Psychological Association as a chronic fear of environmental doom and a generalised sense that the ecological foundations of human existence are collapsing. It is a complex feeling that stems from the perception of an increasingly unsustainable future that creates uncertainty. Fear, worry, guilt and anguish are just some of the emotions associated with eco-anxiety. Although this type of anxiety is not identified as a real pathology, many empirical studies show that it can have major impacts on mental health, especially among younger people (18-35 years old), women and in those countries of the Global South that are already significantly exposed to environmental catastrophes.
In our region as well, where the effects of climate change are already visible, there is fear of extreme weather events. In a joint research project, Eurac Research and the Provincial Institute for Statistics ASTAT have analysed the emotional reactions of the South Tyrolean population to the climate crisis. The results speak clearly: also in South Tyrol, people are dealing with eco-anxiety. Indeed, 70% of the sample stated that they are afraid, 80% feel concerned, 39% feel guilty and 67% feel powerless. The South Tyrolean population is particularly worried about risks related to droughts, water shortages and floods.
How can eco-anxiety be addressed? Firstly, and most importantly, governments need to take more ambitious measures to tackle the climate crisis, also by involving the population through participatory processes. This could reduce the widespread feeling of powerlessness related to policy inaction. Secondly, it might become more important to develop new emotional skills to deal with eco-anxiety, as it is not going to disappear anytime soon. Therefore, psychological support services should be implemented that acknowledge the effects of eco-anxiety on mental health and help people transform the disabling feeling of eco-anxiety into a proactive attitude for social and ecological change.
Ilaria De March, Felix Windegger, Christoph Kircher
Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research – Bolzano (BZ)
More texts about the work you can read here
Here can you see more images from the installation