The sea levels are projected to rise by 1 to 2 meters over the next 200 years if global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. For years, we have been inundated with data and warnings from experts, yet the mitigation and adaptation strategies remain insufficient. What does it take for us to understand that we are on the verge of climate collapse and to grasp the urgency of the situation?

 

City at Sea Level is an installation featuring a 5-meter diameter cylindrical structure covered with burnt/dirty orange PVC fabric. Inside, a circular platform is elevated above the ground, displaying fragments of urban furniture sunken beneath an invisible tide.

 

Visitors are invited to descend beneath the platform and place their heads through openings into a glimpse into a world reshaped by climate collapse, where precautions have failed to prevent the inevitable. The installation immerses visitors in a future where the climate inaction has transformed Dutch cities into submerged relics, leaving familiar urban elements half-drowned and forgotten. The point of view creates the unsettling sensation of looking up from beneath the water’s surface, confronting a world where the sea has risen to eye level—both literally and metaphorically.

 

The installation transforms a simple scene into a powerful statement on the fragility of urban life in the face of the climate crisis.