No climate justice without social justice: Shilo Shiv Suleman
Artist Shilo Shiv Suleman talks about her experience at the recent COP28
Bengaluru-based artist Shilo Shiv Suleman recently attended the annual United Nations climate meeting, COP28, or Conference of the Parties, in Dubai. Here, she showcased her artwork alongside the Fearless Collective.
Suleman, who has attended COP for the “past three years”, describes her time at COP28 as “challenging, due to the strict censorship imposed by the UN”, which inhibits discussions around sensitive topics like Palestine. “It was actually quite a difficult experience this year to be in a space where protest is completely illegal while the Palestine crisis continues,” she reveals.
Expressing the severity of limitations, the 34-year-old highlights the “banning of terms like Palestine, Gaza and the slogan from the river to the sea”.
Suleman expresses deep concern over the contrast between the hope symbolised by the youth pavilion and the tragic reality of thousands of children losing their lives in the ongoing war. The artist says, “Invariably, a lot of the collaborators and activists that we met at women and youth pavilions were from Palestine. We actually dedicated all of our work to solidarity with Palestine. We made a mural in the women’s pavilion that looked at history and the relationship between conflict and resource. People look to the youth pavilion as a space of hope...”
While emphasising the interconnectedness of climate and social justice, Suleman says, “COP28 happening in Dubai, which is a removed space from the natural world... You know, it is an artificial kind of wonderland in a sense. And so it felt almost quite bizarre to be in a space where everything around us was artificial. There is no climate justice without social justice!”
Sharing her scepticism about returning to future COP conferences, she opines, “People are more worried about being on some 30 under 30 list than they are about actually doing the work (for climate). There is a climate cocktail gathering or a gala dinner every night, and it feels absolutely disconnected from the reality of climate change.” She also highlights “the significance of bringing grassroots stories into the spotlight”.
Amid her various artworks displayed at the event, one mural depicted the interrelation between conflict and resources, drawing attention to the plight of Palestinian children. “We painted two Palestinian children at the youth and children pavilion. There is no greater loss of damage than what we’re witnessing now,” she concludes.
