“I have been studying the global shipping industry since 2000, observing its amazing growth both in cargo statistics and in the size of the ships. My work raises questions about the ultimate outcome of all of this development — namely, how it contributes to climate change.
Here, a wrecked container ship sits in Mount Rainier National Park’s Reflection Lakes with wayward cargo floating in the water and strewn about the lakeshore. This imagery proposes a post-apocalyptic scenario: After a cataclysmic event, port implements are stranded far inland, in places we would never imagine they might be. The message is that America’s parks, although protected spaces under the law, are still vulnerable to the deleterious effects of industrial activities. The imagery is also a metaphor for what is at stake when a national treasure is pitted against growth at any cost.”
Mary Iverson is a painter and public artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Her main sources of inspiration are close to her home: the Port of Seattle, and three National Parks (Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Park). The next exhibition of her paintings will be at Chandran Gallery in San Francisco, opening in December of 2016. A version of this article originally appeared in the January/February 2016 issue ofForeign Policy.
Loading graphics
Welcome to a world of insight.
Make the most of FP.
Explore the benefits of your FP subscription.
Explore the benefits included in your subscription.
Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Sign up below.Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Sign up below.
Choose a few newsletters that interest you.Get more insight in your inbox.
Here are some we think you might like.
Update your newsletter preferences.
Your guide to the most important world stories of the day.
Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent. Delivered Wednesday.
One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. Delivered Friday.
The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. Delivered Wednesday.
Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. Delivered Thursday.
Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy. Delivered Thursday.
A curated selection of our very best long reads. Delivered Wednesday & Sunday.
Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day. Delivered Monday-Saturday.
A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers.
Keep up with the world without stopping yours.
Keep up with the world without stopping yours.
Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere.
Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere.
Read the magazine
Save articles (and read offline)
Customize your feed
Listen to FP podcasts
Analyze the world’s biggest events.
Analyze the world’s biggest events.
Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with
Is the White House prepared to deal with the remarkable growth of artificial intelligence? What are the current and potential risks to Americans? If governments should create rules around th...Show moree regulation of AI, what considerations should guide the creation of those rules?
Alondra Nelson is the architect of the White House’s “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.” Since it was published in October, AI has only become more central to our lives—and Nelson has stepped down from her role as the government’s head of science and technology.
How should policymakers think through the challenges presented by AI? Join Nelson for a wide-ranging discussion with FP’s Ravi Agrawal.
The war in Ukraine has propelled the United States and Europe closer on a variety of foreign-policy issues. But do Washington and Brussels agree on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout...Show more?
The signs are mixed. The trans-Atlantic alliance NATO has formally declared China a strategic threat, but there are also emerging gaps in how various European capitals and Washington want to engage with Beijing. What exactly are these differences, and how will they impact the world’s relations with China?
Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a discussion with experts on both sides of the Atlantic: Cindy Yu, an assistant editor of the Spectator and host of its podcast Chinese Whispers; and James Palmer, author of FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. FP subscribers can send in their questions in advance.
Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show morehips. In response, China has accelerated its own efforts to develop its technological industry and reduce its dependence on external imports.
According to Dan Wang, a technology expert and visiting scholar at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, China’s tech competitiveness is grounded in manufacturing capabilities. And sometimes China’s strategy beats America’s.
Where is this new tech war headed? How are other countries being impacted as a result? In what ways are they reassessing their relationships with the world’s largest economic superpowers? Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with Wang for a discussion about China’s technological rise and whether U.S. actions can really stop it.
See what’s trending.
See what’s trending.
Most popular articles on FP right now.
Most popular articles on FP right now.