Kathleen Kneeland
In MGM’s Wizard of Oz, a frightened Dorothy stands in front of a large hourglass watching red grains of sand fall, measuring the time left before the Wicked Witch of the West does her in to claim ownership of the ruby red slippers. Time is running out and Dorothy knows it.
In Time, a mixed media piece originally created for Ozpirations: New Art Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, we stand in front of a replica of the hourglass. Polar bears fall, instead of grains of sand, measuring time while catastrophic storms and weather conditions rage all around. Despite evidence of polar bears being on the brink of extinction and the devastating realities of the irreversible global climate changes associated with their perilous situation, a debate persists between science and the naysayers. Is it only a dream or are we, too, running out of time?