Raqib Shaw’s The Pragmatic Pessimist (2024) connects his reflections on mortality with the precarious condition of our planet. The artist imagines an otherworldly winter palace, and he warms himself with a fire built from art books. Arctic animals seek shelter by his side, and in the background, polar bears crowd together on melting ice. Shaw states: “There is war, there is deforestation. There are terrible things happening to the planet. It’s not about me. It’s about a human being living in our day and age and witnessing what is going around”.
