How Do We End?
Coleman Norton
“How Do We End?”, 2021
cast plastic human skull, pedestal, acompining film
On July 16th 1945 the world was changed forever, it was on this day that a plutonium implosion device known as the gadget was detonated in the remote desert of New Mexico. Upon reaching super critical mass a ball of plutonium the size of a grapefruit would cause a nuclear chain reaction that would lead to an explosion the likes of which human eyes had never seen. Enter the atomic age. A similar device alongside another in the uranium gun style of bombs led to Japanese surrender and the end of WWII later that year. We had created the greatest weapon the world had ever seen, yet in the process gave humankind the ability to wipe out all life on earth within minutes. Following the Japanese surrender at nuclear muzzle point a new war began, racing to become the new world superpower the Soviet Union and the United States entered a decades long cold war that instilled millions with the fear of Nuclear holocaust. Weapons were built and amassed, bunkers were dug, and duck and cover drills were run. During this period of history, nuclear angst was at an all time high and the global community prepared for the possibility of total devastation. Now it's 2021, the soviet union collapsed and the berlin wall fell. With each passing year the fears and anxieties of the cold war fade farther and farther into memory. Yet has the danger subsided? Some may say so, others argue we are more susceptible than ever. Nine countries now have the capability to build and launch nuclear weapons, one of which includes the dictatorial regime of Kim Jong Un in North Korea. Furthermore we now face the threat of extremist terror organisations both foreign and domestic, while no known terror cell is believed to have access to these weapons the threat and fear of another detonation is real. This mixed media presentation consists of both film and sculptural elements that use imagery of death and nuclear detonations to create an experience that makes one question the mental disarmament of the nuclear threat that has grown since the fall of the soviet union. Using archival test footage of atomic detonations the film creates a music visualization that accompanies a score in the realm of electronic dance music. As the viewer taps their feet to the beat of the music and becomes immersed by the abstract visuals they become disconnected from the fact that they are dancing to a representation of ultimate destruction. As the viewer is watching a weathered cast of a human skull peers back at them, acting as a constant reminder of the destructive power of the atom bomb.
