Image Politics of Climate Change

... with Birgit Schneider und Thomas Nocke

1. »Completely unnecessary!« - Why is that not true for your book?

Climate change in its scientific complexity is very difficult to imagine for people not involved in climate science; in daily experience, climate change cannot be directly grasped. At the same time we are confronted with – often conflicting – climate information and the inability to imagine possible climate futures. Here our book takes its starting point. It critically analyzes the full diversity of pictures originating from different contexts which all claim to make climate change meaningful on a visual level, e.g. coming from climate research, politics, activism, art, press, and blogs. To our knowledge up to now such a wide-ranging anthology doesn't exist which at the same time fruitfully combines theory with practice.

2. What new perspectives are opened up by your book?

Today's images might become the blueprint for tomorrow's realities. Therefore climate pictures have a key role in making the future imaginable. The close interlinking of the author's viewpoints promotes in-depth insights into issues of production and analysis of climate visualization like the power of images, their frictions and expressiveness, and how such images are able to depict uncertainty.

3. What's the book's possible impact on the current discourse?

The most important debate this book is aiming at is the question if there is a general link from (climate) knowledge to action, from image to action? What is the ›right‹ way to communicate climate change knowledge? It is claimed that using pictures which are as effective as possible helps to vividly put across to the recipients what they are unable to envision and become conscious of by means of text alone. It is this implicit basic assumption of the power of images to influence reality that we address in this book. How are images supposed to influence reality? But also: what limitations do they have?

4. With which audience would you like to discuss your book?

We would like to discuss our book with all people who are confronted with the task to produce climate pictures like climate researchers, cartographers, graphic designers, film makers teachers, and artists, but also with those employing climate pictures like policy makers, campaign developers, and journalists; in addition, we would like to discuss issues raised in this book with disciplines reflecting on the general use of images like art history, sociology and philosophy.

5. Your book in one sentence:

The anthology critically analyzes the diversity of pictures originating from multiple contexts which all claim to make climate change meaningful on a visual level.