The Fashion of Climate Change

As environmental professionals, Geckoella works with local communities and clients to achieve positive action. The climate and ecological emergency lends urgency to the task: we need to get even better at what we do. It is increasingly essential for scientists to learn from artists and others how to connect and deliver effective environmental messages that achieve change.

It helps us that Geckoella’s offices are located within the new East Quay building on the harbourside in Watchet, West Somerset. This state of art Creative Hub developed by social enterprise The Onion Collective and designed by award-winning architects Ellis Williams and Invisible Studio is an energetic, vibrant centre that suits our forward thinking and hard working staff and clients, and is truly inspirational.

A recent event that chimed with us particularly was the East Quay Takeover by the Hatch Artist’s Collective. We were astounded to witness what can only be described as an exuberant outpouring of creative performance on the theme of climate change titled ‘The Last Party in the World’.

13 Artists from around Somerset came together for one night only to entertain and provoke us with their themed fashion show. The mind blowing sculptural costumes varied from a demented dragonfly defying the millenia to a terrifying extinction Rebellion Robe to more absurd, comical and sublime costumes about weather, bubbles, birds, mycelium and fantasy earth spirits.The costumes amazed and astounded and were often cleverly made from recycled material.The show was colourful and dazzling with an atmospheric music track presented with spoken word and poetry by the artists. Crowds gathered on the Harbourside for the free show – an experience indeed, which spilled out into the town after as people made their way home slightly dazed and thinking deeply about what on earth they had just seen.   

Well done to Hatch and East Quay for this extravaganza of Climate Change themed art – timely and pertinent, given the direct challenges that the town of Watchet now faces suffering coastal erosion along a key access route being accelerated due to climate change.