Elegy for the Arctic

For two decades, Łódź was the setting for a spectacular theatrical performance—the view that the city had hit rock bottom. Human beings have a highly developed capacity to aestheticise catastrophes, especially theatrical (political) ones. Thanks to the Greeks, in the finale now unfolding before our eyes in Łódź, we are released from an excess of emotion through ‘catharsis’. Unfortunately, the unfolding changes in the climate cannot be watched like a theatrical performance. The ancient theory of catharsis assumes that the spectator lives longer than the performance lasts. In this case, that is far from certain.