Wasn’t Dylan writing about imminent nuclear war in the sixties in his song, rather than climate change?
It’s true that Dylan was actually writing about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963, but he has since used the song at a number of events, such as George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. Dylan has been at pains to point out that this song has a wider meaning, one appropriate before, during and after the Cuban missile crisis.
We are showing that, while each problem is understood to some degree by decision-makers, they are typically addressed as separate issues. Hard Rain puts the pieces together and shows that the world has little chance to solve any one of them until we understand how they all connect by cause and effect.
How long did it take to put this together?
Mark has been travelling and taking photographs in over 150 countries in the last 40 years. He first decided to illustrate the global environmental crisis in 1969, and Hard Rain really began to take shape as a live presentation in 2000. The DVD has been in development for about a year, since interest in the presentation has exploded.
How many cities/countries has Hard Rain been seen in?
The exhibition has been seen in over 50 cities, with a tour of India immediately following Copenhagen. The presentation, on which the DVD is based, has been seen in hundreds of venues on every continent.
How has Dylan lent his support?
Dylan and his label, Columbia Records, have been extremely supportive of Hard Rain right from its public launch as an exhibition at the Eden Project in 2006. They have also been very supportive of Hard Rain by allowing us to use the lyrics in the exhibitions.
This year, the Royal Photographic Society recognized Mark Edwards and Bob Dylan by presenting them with the Terence Donovan Award for their achievement with the Hard Rain Project.
Does Dylan receive any royalties for this DVD?
No, Dylan and Columbia Records have given their permission for us to use the song royalty-free.
How do you compare this work to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, or the film The Age of Stupid?
By using still photography and an iconic song to illustrate the current state of our planet and its people, we are taking the debate about climate change to a new level. Photographs are a shadow of the past but they can also be a ghost of the future. The localised environmental and social problems Mark has documented in the poor world could be replicated across the planet if a runaway, irreversible greenhouse effect kicks in.
How has Gordon Brown contributed to the project?
We sent a copy of the Hard Rain book to a large number of world leaders, and many of them were kind enough to respond in some way. Gordon Brown wrote his letter of support as an immediate reaction to the words and images that we sent him.
The DVD is accompanied by a specially commissioned essay, The Urgency of Now, by Lloyd Timberlake, which exposes the muddled thinking that has delayed a radically new worldwide approach to climate change, the wasteful use of resources, poverty, habitat loss and species extinction. The essay title was inspired by Gordon Brown’s response to Hard Rain.
Isn’t Copenhagen now seen to be a failure? Why launch Hard Rain there?
Copenhagen is the most important gathering of world climate change scientists, experts and negotiators since Kyoto in 1997. The United Nations is co-ordinating the “Conference of the Parties” and UNEP, the UN’s environment programme, has worked with us to organise the launch which is sponsored by the leading Danish newspaper Politiken.
Gordon Brown has indicated his availability to work at Copenhagen with other world leaders, which may include President Obama. It is likely that a framework agreement will be in place at the end of the conference, and we could not hope for a more relevant event at which to launch the DVD.
How can Hard Rain be shown to other audiences?
We now have a range of media with which to present Hard Rain: as well as the DVD, and the exhibition, Mark is available for live presentations, at venues of all sizes. For companies and organisations, these events can include a workshop to stimulate action on climate change and sustainability.
Isn’t this simply a commercial operation – aren’t you just making money out of some very disturbing images?
Hard Rain Project is a not-for-profit company, and we have applied for full charitable status. Mark receives a small salary, and the support team work on an “as required” basis for modest daily rates.
Income is recycled into improvements to the presentation, new editions of the book, the production of the DVD, and helps fund educational programmes for schools, universities and colleges, and public exhibitions that campaign for realistic solutions to the interlinked problems of climate change, poverty, the wasteful use of resources, population expansion, habitat destruction and species loss.
To speak to Mark Edwards or to request a review copy or press images for the Hard Rain DVD, contact:
MarkEdwards[at]hardrainproject.com
+44 (0)208 858 8307
Mobile: +44 (0)7710 099818
