Handkerchief for the Apocalypse
(with Arctic shipping routes)

Handkerchief for the Apocalypse (with Arctic shipping routes), 2010
handkerchief, embroidery thread
12 x 12 inches

Handkerchief for the Apocalypse (showing Arctic shipping lanes unfettered by ice) is an embroidered map of the future North Pole. This 4-color embroidery depicts newly habitable lands and commercial shipping routes through the ice-free Arctic ocean. This handkerchief is meant to dab the tears of anyone sad about climate change, but it usually elicits laughter from the audience. The title is ironic based on the content of the work; newly habitable lands and increased commercial shipping routes hardly sound like the nightmarish apocalypse depicted in books and movies. However, these changes carry insidious implications: if the Arctic is ice-free, where are all the ice-dwelling species? If commercial shipping liners are traversing the Arctic Ocean, what effects will they have on local marine life? What kinds of pollution will they cause? What other environmentally unfriendly practices will they encourage? After pondering all these unsettling questions, the viewer may actually stop laughing and need the hanky after all.

Handkerchief for the Apocalypse is made with donated embroidery thread on a found handkerchief (cleaned then dyed in coffee)