FLOE: A Climate of Risk
The Fictional Archaeology of Stephen Talasnik

Stephen Talasnik has built an artistic career by exploring the links between drawing and building. His work is site-specific, occupying a scale that blurs the line between sculpture and architecture. In FLOE, Talasnik presents an imaginative and immersive installation that is simultaneously local and universal. Talasnik, who grew up and was educated in Philadelphia, poses his hometown to present a fictional account of a Philadelphia whose civilization was buried by a natural disaster brought on by climate change; the only evidence of this society is through the “archaeological collection” presented in the exhibition. Climate change is a problem that exposes the vulnerability of the world’s most defenseless populations, including the impoverished, house-less, and stateless, while the macro-financial stability of the region is threatened by shifts in global temperatures. While data facilitates understanding of this impact in terms of numbers, the potential loss to humanity is far more difficult to quantify. Through this exhibition, Talasnik’s account—illustrated in wood, bamboo, and composite materials—will help us understand this loss on the scale of the viewer.

The Museum for Art commissioned a short film of the exhibition FLOE: A Climate of Risk | The Fictional Archaeology of Stephen Talasnik and gives an overview of the work in the exhibition. FLOE is on view at the Museum for Art in Wood starting November 3, 2023 through February 18, 2024. Special thank you to videographer Bob Finkelstein (@bofinkel).

FLOE: A Climate of Risk is supported in part by a grant from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.