Coloured Light
2017
Five
Oil on board 47 x 76 cm
Four, Less One
Oil on board 46 x 37 cm
Gone
Oil on board 45 x 61 cm
Waiting
Oil on board 38 x46 cm
A photo by Marko Djurica for Reuters and published in The Observer in January 2017 provided the inspiration for this painting of refugees queuing for food in Belgrade.
Time and Tide
Oil on board 61 x 122 cm
referencing the Time and Tide Bell at Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire.
Time and Tide
Detail
Ai Weiwei
"There's no refugee crisis, but only human crisis. In dealing with refugees we've lost our very basic values. In this time of uncertainty, we need more tolerance, compassion and trust for each other since we all are one. Otherwise, humanity will face an even bigger crisis."Ai Weiwei.
From the National Gallery in Prague.
The Extinction Symbol
The Extinction Symbol has a circle representing our planet and an hour-glass representing the time running out for countless thousands of species as we enter the Sixth Great Extinction of the Anthropocene. More information at Extinction Symbol
The Doughnut
A 21st century compass. Between its social foundation of human well-being and ecological ceiling of planetary pressure lies the safe and just space for humanity.
The Acrobats
"The acrobats exemplify our skill of trusting, reciprocating and cooperating with each other to achieve things that none of us could alone." Kate Raworth, from Doughnut Economics, page 127.
Leave No One Behind
Oil on board 61 x 61 cm
Referencing the cover of the report Leave No One Behind, but with different colours and different shapes.
About the cover
The mosaic represents diverse communities and countries working together to create a
resilient and cooperative system of disaster risk reduction that protects the most vulnerable
and leaves no one behind.
Cover design by Marie Ange Sylvain-Holmgren, Director of Image Ark.
In August 2017, devastating floods swept across South Asia and typhoons wreaked havoc in East Asia. These were stark reminders of nature’s destructive potential. In Bangladesh, India and Nepal flooding and landslides killed hundreds of people. They destroyed homes, schools, businesses and crops, and exposed millions to hunger and disease. Such events are shocking, but not surprising. As clearly set out in the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2017, risk is outpacing resilience. Recent events are the latest in a series of catastrophes in Asia and the Pacific, the most vulnerable region in the world to natural disasters.
Natural disasters can destroy the outcomes of years of work and investment by communities, governments and development organizations. That is why the principle of the disaster resilience is central to the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals. If these Goals are to be achieved, then all new infrastructure should be capable of withstanding extreme natural disasters to enable people to escape and survive. Yet the Sustainable Development Goals have another critical stipulation. They are to be achieved not just for most people, but for everyone. The objective is to 'leave no one behind'. This is particularly relevant in the context of disaster risk reduction. Planning for resilience should be both robust and comprehensive. Early warning systems should reach everyone likely to be affected. Food, water or shelter should be swiftly available, even in the most remote areas.
This edition of the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report considers what this means in practice. It looks at the relationship between the impact of disasters, poverty and inequality. Where inequality is concerned, the report highlights that each disaster in the region leads to a 0.13-point increase in the Gini coefficient. It explores how the impacts of disasters intersect with violent conflict. It argues that measures for disaster risk reduction should take account of the shifting risks associated with climate change, especially in risk hotspots where a greater likelihood of change coincides with a higher concentration of poor, vulnerable or marginalized people. Although interventions to reduce disaster risk cannot alone prevent conflict, they should be part of an integrated approach to conflict prevention and peace-building.
The report shows that future natural disasters may have greater destructive potential. The region could account for 40 per cent of global economic losses resulting from disasters in the years to come, with small island developing States and least developed countries experiencing annual GDP losses equivalent to 4 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively. It also highlights the scientific and technical advances in forecasting that can identify new risks and vulnerabilities, and help anticipate extreme events. I hope this report will help policy makers, in both public and private sectors, understand disaster risk and resilience better, so that decisive action can be taken across Asia and the Pacific.
Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
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Biff Vernon