Give Us the Strength to Change the Weather, Almighty Dragons of the Four Seas was a community engagement program led by Sydney based artist Jason Phu, culminating in an installation that explored human responsibility for climate change.

Drawing on Chinese mythology, the four dragon gods of the seas are believed to influence weather and water systems. At the time of the project, and increasingly so today, communities both locally and globally were experiencing the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought and flooding.

Rather than appealing to these deities for protection, the project reframed them as a call to action. Participants were invited to paint found cardboard boxes while considering their own agency to find the strength to make changes within their lives and communities, acknowledging that, ultimately, we are the dragons that influence the weather.

Jason Phu

Commissioned by HOTA Home of the Arts and curated by Ruth Della for HOTA Gallery.