Beyond the Verbiage: Consumerism through Tourism and Its Manifestations in Small Islands and Remote Places

Abstract

'Beyond the Verbiage' are encounters with the environment. So much has been written about our consumerist contemporary society and Climate Change. This paper is an artistic examination of research conducted by Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, through onsite investigations, spanning a four-year period, of small islands and isolated environments. Chapters will explore research undertaken on Lord Howe Island N.S.W. Australia, Galapagos Islands Ecuador, Faroe Islands the North Sea and Deception Island Antarctica. Through video, sound, and installations these investigations work to create awareness about the impact the international traveller is having globally, but especially in places once deemed only for the experienced intrepid traveller. This paper explores how the consumer is enticed not just by the tourist industries' images, specials and catchy jingles but also via the documentary beautifully edited to capture this planet's extraordinary environment. These inducements create a desire within the viewer to be immersed in these fragile isolated places; however, the resulting manifestation explored here creates a window into the vacationer's impact on the viewed utopian destination. 'Beyond the Verbiage' is just one part of a discourse to increase awareness of how society's seemingly simple actions in travelling potentially have a disastrous 'butterfly effect' on such remote and utopian destinations.