Survival is dependent on adaptability. But at what point will humans be willing (or forced) to become adaptable? Josh Kline’s 16mm short film, Adaptation (2019–22), presents a future shaped by human destruction. New York City has become submerged by seawater due to the catastrophic effects of climate change. Essential workers are seen traversing canals of cloudy flesh-tone water by boat, meandering between Manhattan’s skyscrapers—once symbolic pillars of modern “progress” are transformed into sublime capitalist ruins. Every inch of the gallery floor is covered with a dark tarp that ripples like water across the room. Visitors are invited to rest on plastic storage bins and prompted to imagine their inevitable apocalypse: Will we survive? Will we adapt? For many, the apocalypse has already arrived by way of colonization. Refugees continue to die every day in search of sustainability.

The style of the film is uncanny yet nostalgic—a kind of dystopian daydream. There is an air of stillness and acceptance; does this kind of aestheticization of disaster provoke action or acceptance? What would Kline’s film be like if it were set in Los Angeles? Yet again, this city is not short of apocalyptic imagery—real and imagined. As workers gaze out toward the murky horizon, searching for hope, I recall my own experience pausing to watch the undeniable beauty of an LA sunset during fire season. 

The exhibition also includes an installation of sculptural work related to the film in the upstairs gallery.

LAXART
7000 Santa Monica Blv
Los Angeles, CA 90038
On view through April 9, 2022