This Mad World spans the globe in its scope, illustrating the interconnectedness of all living things and the struggles we each face as we share in this experience of life on Earth. Grounded in the framework of Intersectional Environmentalism, the curation refuses to separate issues of social justice from concerns of environmental collapse. The exhibition draws from the writings of Kimberlé Crenshaw, the Combahee River Collective, and Leah Thomas, among other sources of queer and Black feminist thought, with its title originating from the poem “A Personal History of Breathing” by Joy Priest.
Mad World questions the limits of environmentalism as it is conceived within institutional and mainstream society, recognizing that environmental injustices and social inequalities are interconnected and disproportionately affect oppressed communities. The selected group of artists presents works that directly challenge the systems that oppress us and our environment. Their practices engage with themes including colonialism, development, migration, stress, disability justice, and Afro-surrealism. In response to our collective anxieties, we seek to imagine alternative systems of care, emphasize a return to ancestral practice, and inspire cultural action.