2024 Emerging Curator Program
Curated by Annabel Brown

The Limits of My Language Are the Limits of My World

The Limits of My Language Are the Limits of My World explores how a visual language can deepen one's understanding of the distress caused by the climate emergency. Moving beyond an apparent state of apathy, this exhibition seeks new ways to regain collective emotional bearings as our anxieties and existential dilemmas related to ecological catastrophe become increasingly overwhelming. Through the potency and extension of visual languages, this exhibition sets about exploring a new lexicon that reflects the reality of living on the brink—over the brink—of climate catastrophe.

The Limits of My Language Are the Limits of My World, curated by 2024 Emerging Curator Program recipient Annabel Brown, brings together six local artists to explore how visual language can deepen our understanding of the emotional and  existential profundity that undergirds the climate emergency. 

The exhibition draws on Australian eco-philosopher Glenn Albrecht’s view that existing language, particularly English, is insufficient in its capacity to define and express the grief and anxiety caused by climate change and the destructive forces of 24/7 capitalism. 

Brown invites viewers to consider whether the apparent apathy toward the ecological crisis is misguided or harmful. The politics surrounding environmental crises, particularly in climate-privileged regions, are varied and increasingly complex. However, for those not caught in denial, what seems like indifference may actually stem from feelings of anxiety, fear, or powerlessness, manifesting as inaction or paralysis. The inability to perceive or feel the direct consequences of climate change renders its impacts distant and abstract. This may happen because the language to articulate the scale of the crisis and attendant emotions is unknown, or the problems are unquantifiable. Could it be that populations unconsciously avoid acknowledging these emotions because language fails to articulate them? The exhibition creates a space to explore these questions, using art to confront and interrograte the confusion and distress brought on by the climate emergency.