Practitioner is commended for his ‘wild and fantastic yet very controlled’ representations of the results of climate change in Carbon Future
Practitioner: Commended
Povilas Jurevicius
Carbon Future
There was no shortage of entries that whose designs made clear or indirect reference to climate change but it was Jurevicius’ hand drawn and Photoshop rendered image that stood out for the judges. His generic ‘I was trying to imagine what future would look like if the governments and big corporations continue to ignore this most important issue’ was backed up with a heartfelt drawing that had a power all of its own.
Despite its other-worldliness, there was a disarming recognisability to his reimagining of London’s Deptford that the panel were drawn to. ‘The way it treats the individual elements in his drawing in different ways gives it strength I really like,’ remarked Desmet. ‘It’s a wild and fantastic yet very controlled image.’ Spiller admiringly remarked that ‘it looks like Lebbeus Woods,’ but Quek added it withstood the comparison, adding ‘It doesn’t look derivative; his sky is beautiful.’
Quite what the function of the structure that Desmet termed ‘The remains of a crashed space ship’ is never explained but its epic scale begins to speak of some portentous use yet to be called into being. This dark question at the heart of the image, sitting in front of a sky straight out of an 18th century Dutch landscape painting, elicits a creeping sense of unease that won Jurevicius’ dystopia its well-earned commendation.
The RIBAJ Eye Line Exhibition is open to the public from 1 August to 7 September in the First Floor Gallery at RIBA, 66 Portland Place. See all the winners at their original size, in one space.