Unpicking the climbing ropes is a metaphor for us unpicking the environment by upsetting the balance between the interdependence of different ecosystems by our human actions. Unpicking the climbing ropes, a system that is used as a life line for climbers, becomes a repetitive or unconscious task that we don’t need to think much about doing. It represents the unconscious or accepting actions that we do everyday, with out much thought, that accumulatively, on a large scale, over a prolonged period of time, has a huge and lasting effect of change on our environment. Eventually over a long time the climbing ropes will be completely unpicked.

I have situated the ropes at a round table with 4 chairs to symbolise that it is a joint action this unpicking. The circular seating also represents the opportunity for a ’round table discussion’ on our collective responsibility for the environmental situation. The found table and chairs are made from Teak wood from a certified FSC source. But there is the on going issue that illegal teak is being logged in the Amazon Rainforest which is a major factor in slash and burn land clearance. It is increasingly difficult to certify that teak sold in Europe is actually FSC certified and not from the illegal trade.

Demos argued in his book ‘Against the Anthropocene’ that the individual could only do so much when making lifestyle choices to protect the environment. Governments relied on the collective guilt of the population and their feelings of helplessness against the scale of the problem to create an apathy that enables people to feel that they are helping but really their actions make no difference. He argues that systems need to be changed first and that the population should be collectively lobbying to change their government’s polices and country’s laws.

Unpicking the climbing ropes is a chance for contemplation and discussion. A film of the unpicking is by the table as an invitation to encourage the audience to take part.