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The Human Flood

February 7 – August 11, 2024

Ellyn Weiss, Artist
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist
Laura Roulet, Curator

Explore how mass migration caused by climate change is currently underway (and will only increase) through this mixed-media installation.

 

 
Arkin Weiss

Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, The Human Flood (detail), 2023. Mixed media monoprints, 89 foot printed scroll in nine sections; height variable. Courtesy of the artists.
 

Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, The Human Flood (detail), 2023. Mixed media monoprints, 89 foot printed scroll in nine sections; height variable. Courtesy of the artists.

Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, The Human Flood (detail), 2023. Mixed media monoprints, 89 foot printed scroll in nine sections; height variable. Courtesy of the artists. 
 

Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, Permanent Temporary Housing (detail), 2023. Wood, screws, used vinyl banners, found canvas and plastic. Each 20 inches H x 24 inches W x 31 inches D. Total 50. Courtesy of the artists.

Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, Permanent Temporary Housing (detail), 2023. Wood, screws, used vinyl banners, found canvas and plastic. Each 20 inches H x 24 inches W x 31 inches D. Total 50. Courtesy of the artists.

 

Overview & Events

Gallery Talk: The Human Flood
March 23, 2:00–3:00

Gallery Talk: The Human Flood Panel Discussion
April 25, 2:00–3:00

What does it truly mean to leave a life behind upon migration and start a new one elsewhere? The Human Flood, a site-specific collaborative installation conceived and created by Ellyn Weiss and Sondra N. Arkin, attempts to answer this question through its exploration of the ever-growing mass migration of human populations caused by climate change. Years of extreme heat, rising sea levels, wildfires, drought, and water shortages have left the environments in which millions of people lived no longer able to sustain human life.

The installation invites visitors to confront the full experience of migration by evoking both the more visible markers of this movement — extreme weather, nomadic refugee scenarios — as well as the human and societal impacts of uprooting, including the fracturing of family ties, uncertainty, poverty, and helplessness.

The dilemma we face is how to accept responsibility without amplifying fear or threat, to recognize our common humanity. The scale of this human movement places immense challenges not only on the resources of the planet, but fundamentally on the capacity of the human heart to evolve, and to address those challenges with honesty and compassion.