Hearts melt for climate change

MARTIN DE RUYTER/The Nelson Mail

FREEZE FRAME: Jo Campbell with her artwork at the Church steps.

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One hundred and twenty hearts encased in ice slowly melted on the Christ Church Cathedral steps yesterday as part of Nelson artist Jo Campbell's message to the community to take tiny steps for a monumental change against climate change.

Ms Campbell said the installation piece evoked images of a melting iceberg and the grandeur of the Egyptian pyramids.

"We tend to think of climate change as a very doom and gloom thing, but it is an opportunity for people to unite together and achieve great things, as they have in the past."

She said Small Steps Monumental Task was a monument to "climate heroes" or those that took some kind of action to combat climate change.

The small step was taking the action, the monumental task was the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2020.

"As the hearts melt out of the ice, it represents people melting out of their apathy towards this issue and responding from the heart."

Many people did just that in helping Ms Campbell prepare the piece. Fresh Choice froze the blocks of ice and they were transported by a fleet of cyclists.

Ms Campbell said she would produce other similar pieces in the lead-up to United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen at the end of the year.

"I also hope that this can be replicated in other places around the world. Anybody can do it."

- © Fairfax NZ News