Human Eruption By Jamieson Thomas

In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The preservation of its ruins are unmatched throughout the world and provide an invaluable snapshot of everyday life in these Roman cities.

As I drove to New Smyrna Beach past the Samsula Landfill, I envisioned it as a human-made volcano filled with our waste and pipes running through it to releasing toxic methane fumes.

This volcano in our midst, is an ever-growing mound close to 20 feet high, high enough to see the seashore 10 miles away. Our massive hurricanes with rain and wind and menacing tornadoes bring obvious natural dangers that we can take precautions against but not control.  We humans are creating more devastating disasters, pandemics and pollution. Unlike natural disasters, they offer no warning, no rumbling, no wind, no seismic scream, they are silent, so we do not prepare for them.

This installation invites you to consider our volcano. If it erupted, what ruins would be left behind? What would the snapshot of our everyday life be?