Over 600 artworks critiquing the corporate takeover of the COP21 climate talks were installed in advertising spaces across Paris this weekend -ahead of the United Nations summit beginning Monday 30 November.
Amidst the French state of emergency banning all public gatherings following the terrorist attacks on 13 November in Paris, the ‘Brandalism‘ project has worked with Parisians to insert unauthorised artworks across the city that aim to highlight the links between advertising, consumerism, fossil fuel dependency and climate change.
The artworks were placed in advertising spaces owned by JC Decaux -one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising firms and an official sponsor to the COP21 climate talks.Other prominent corporate sponsors of the climate talks such as AirFrance, GDF Suez (Engie) and Dow Chemicals are parodied in the posters -whilst heads of state such as Francois Hollande, David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abi also feature.
The artworks were created by over 80 renowned artists from 19 countries across the world including Jimmy Cauty, Banksy-collaborator Paul Insect,Escif and Kennard Phillips – many of whom featured at Banksy’s Dismaland exhibition in England this summer (see our coverage here), as well as Aida, Arnaud Liard, AlexOne, Barnbrook, David De La Mano, Fra BiancoShock, Hobz,John Felkner, Ron English, Jon Burgerman, Noel Douglas, Lapiz, Mobstr to name a few.
Joe Elan from Brandalism said, “By sponsoring the climate talks, major polluters such as Air France and GDF-Suez-Engie can promote themselves as part of the solution – when actually they are part of the problem.”
Elan continued, “We are taking their spaces back because we want to challenge the role advertising plays in promoting unsustainable consumerism. Because the advertising industry force feeds our desires for products created from fossil fuels, they are intimately connected to causing climate change. As is the case with the Climate talks and their corporate sponsored events, outdoor advertising ensures that those with the most amount of money are able to ensure that their voices get heard above all else.” The art works were installed on ‘Black Friday‘ or ‘Vendredi Noir’; the most hectic and competitive shopping day of the year.
Other posters called on people to take to the streets as part of the”Climate Games” – the world’s largest disobedient adventure game as well as protesting the “Solutions 21” conference – a large corporate exposition being held at the Grand Palais during the climate talks .
Bill Posters from Brandalism said “Following the tragic events on 13th November in Paris, the government has chosen to ban the big civil society mobilisations – but big business events can continue. The multinationals responsible for climate change can keep green washing their destructive business models, but the communities directly impacted by them are silenced. It’s now more important than ever to call out their lies and speak truth to power. We call on people to take to the streets during the COP21 to confront the fossil fuel industry. We cannot leave the climate talks in the hands of politicians and corporate lobbyists who created this mess in the first place.”
Unit London is presenting Paintguide, a collaborative exhibition of new works by 60 international painters, as featured on the instagram account @Paintguide.
Curated over the past year, the show is a physical representation of Henrik Uldaden‘s @Paintguide instagram feed to promote emerging international artists. Each week a new artist is appointed as a curator posting works that have inspired them as well as their own pieces.
Participating artists include :Aaron Nagel, Aron Wiesenfeld, Alessandra Peters, Allison Sommers, Amy Sol, Andrew Hem, Andy Espinoza, Anthony Hurd, Anthony J. Waichulis, Audrey Kawasaki , Benjamin Bjorklund, Brad Kunkle, Casey Weldon, Casey Baugh, Conrad Roset, Daniel Ochoa, Dan Quintana, David Kassan, Eric Fortune, Eloy Morales, Erik Jones, Esao Andrews, Greg “Craola” Simkins, Hollis Dunlap, Brandon Holt, Henrik Uldaden, Hsiao-Ron Cheng, Ivan Alifan, Jake Wood-Evans, Jean Paul Malozzi, Jeff Hein, Jeremy Mann, Jeremy Geddes, Jesse Draxler, Joao Ruas, Joel Rea, Julio Reyes, Kai Samuel Davis, Kenichi Hoshine, Kim Cogan, Kit King, Linsey Levendall, Lewellyn, Marco Mazzoni, Martin Wittfooth, Matt R Martin, Michael Hussar, Morten Thyholt, Nicomi Nix Turner, RICO BLANCO, Ryan Hewett, Sail, Sam Wolfe Connelly, Serge Marshennikov, Sean Cheatham, Sverre Malling, Shawn Barber, Tom Bagshaw, Tony Curanaj, and Vincent Xeus.
Shepard Fairey unveiled his latest work “Earth Crisis”: a giant sphere suspended between the first and second floor of the Eiffel Tower, a call to action to address the global environmental crisis. Visible from November 20 to 26th, it is a strong artistic gesture for Paris that will host the World Conference on climate change COP21.
This project designed and implemented by Gallery Itinerrance comes from the combination of resolute commitment of the artist, the Mayor of Paris and the operating company of the Eiffel Tower, in favor of sustainable development. The sphere, called “Earth Crisis,” weighs 2.3 tons and displays 8 meters in diameter for a printed surface area of over 200 meters squared. Suspended more than 60 meters above the ground, it is a strong call to reflection on the future of our planet and the threats to its sustainability.
“My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. I think it is exciting that the globe provides different experiences for the viewer from a distance and up close while living in the heart of the Eiffel Tower. I hope the Earth Crisis Globe appeals visually but also generates a needed conversation about the fate of our planet.” -Shepard
‘Public art has the power to engage people emotionally and intellectually. The Earth Crisis Globe is a mandala designed to provide a unified ornamental structure that evokes floral motifs and harmony with nature. Housed within the mandala’s shields are images that symbolize both threats to nature and incitement to respect it. The mandala images, composed of climate change and environmentally themed graphics, are positioned to raise awareness and provoke discussions about the Earth’s future. The colors used in the globe design connect blue and green of air, water, and vegetation that allow the earth to sustain life. ‘
Shepard Fairey explains in details the panels of the Earth Crisis Globe:
EARTH CRISIS
My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. When I look at the motives of those who deny climate change, they are not driven by a quest for truth, but by greed or, in the case of politicians, the benefit of aligning themselves with certain corporate donors. The correlation between Carbon emissions and climate change is virtually unanimous in the scientific community. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. If you aren’t a bit concerned about climate change, what will it take… NYC and Bangladesh under water?
ENDLESS POWER
The Endless Power image is designed to feel like a vintage ad celebrating the abundance of gasoline and the bright future of the American Dream. The claim that petrol provides an unlimited future is a snapshot of the overly-optimistic wish that oil is unlimited. Oil is finite and a major factor in climate change, but reliance on it is so extreme that the power wielded by those who control oil is virtually unlimited. Scientists hired by fossil fuels corporations represent the 1% minority of the scientific community who claim that oil and gas don’t contribute to climate change. These are the same scientists who, if paid, would claim that smoking cures asthma or that gas fumes are a cure-all lung tonic.
EARTH CRISIS
My political stance on protecting the planet is driven by my concern for the quality of life for future generations. When I look at the motives of those who deny climate change, they are not driven by a quest for truth, but by greed or, in the case of politicians, the benefit of aligning themselves with certain corporate donors. The correlation between Carbon emissions and climate change is virtually unanimous in the scientific community. I’m not an alarmist, but I do think people need to understand that we are facing an earth crisis. If you aren’t a bit concerned about climate change, what will it take… NYC and Bangladesh under water?
GREEN POWER
Green Power was created as part of my Power & Glory series. The series explores various notions of power and glory in terms of industry, authority, energy, the environment, politics, vice, and virtue. Many of my Power & Glory images critique fossil fuels and explore their accompanying oil and gas iconography as symbols of what literally and metaphorically drives America. Green Power was one of the images from the series in support of green energy. Rather than subsidizing dirty fossil fuels, tax revenues should be supporting research and development for renewable power sources.
RESPECT AND JUSTICE
The Respect & Justice image is a call to celebrate, respect, and nurture the planet. The inter-dependence of earth’s eco-systems inspired the concept of Gaia, or the earth as one organism with a respiratory system. The earth’s delicate respiratory system can be thrown dangerously out of balance by climate change. True justice for the earth and future generations of all species can only be achieved by respecting the fragility of the eco-systems that sustain life. The future is in our hands.
PAINT IT BLACK
Paint it Black Hand is inspired by the Rolling Stones song and is about oil influencing too much of U.S. energy policy and foreign policy. Imagine if all the money spent on wars and strategic interests in the Middle East had been spent on developing green energy alternatives. Instead, the government subsidizes the highly profitable oil and gas industries for billions a year because no politician wants a rise in the price of gas to be blamed on them. The need for gas will remain, but countries and companies need to invest in sustainable energy alternatives to help with the transition away from the finite supply of fossil fuels that are also responsible for CO2 emissions and climate change.
LIFEGUARD NOT ON DUTY
This Lifeguard Not On Duty image was inspired by vintage scenic postcards and some old photos I saw of oil derricks down the beach on the California coast. There are still oil drilling platforms visible from the beach in Santa Barbara where there have been several oil spills. Beyond just the environmental hazards of oil spills and climate change, Lifeguard Not On Duty is also about our collective lack of foresight in transitioning away from oil, which is finite, to energy sources which are renewable. The tide will turn, and the question is whether the worldwill be technically equipped to adapt.
GLOBAL WARMING
The Global Warning image was inspired by watching my wife Amanda sunbathe with a newspaper over her face. I imagined the irony of newspaper headlines about climate change while the sunbather remains blissfully ignorant while the warnings about global warming are literally right in front of her face! I photographed my wife on the spot to make an illustration and then I had fun critiquing the right-wing climate change deniers in the satirical newspaper articles. Considering the magnitude of climate change, it is surpring that it does not make newspaper headlines with greater frequency.
SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT
This image was originally created in the late 90’s for an organization called Save Our Environment which was founded by Mike D of the Beastie Boys. At the time, wind energy was becoming more cost-effective, and therefore viable, as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Wind is actually free, so the biggest challenge to implementing wind turbines is the up-front cost. I think the investment in wind energy to save our environment is well worth it. I designed this image to suggest that windmills or turbines are iconic symbols of a healthy earth.
Pictures by Aline Deschamps, Milan Poyet, SETE/ E.Livine for Galerie Itinerrance and the artist
For her new solo show at Hauser & Wirth in London, contemporary artist Anj Smith has been working tirelessly for the past three years to produce a series of twenty one paintings. Inspired by a variety of sources, from psychological states, nature, fashion subcultures, the artworks are rich in detail, colour and texture.
During a conversation with Laurence Sillars, Chief Curator, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Anj Smith explains her thought process behind the work.
‘Phosphor on the Palms’ is characterised by its exploration of the liminal. The exhibition’s title alludes to the poem ‘Fabliau of Florida’ by Wallace Stevens (1879 – 1955), in which natural elements morph into new configurations. Smith writes: ‘Difficulties in identifying and separating out phenomena aren’t artificially simplified but embraced in all their complexities. Thresholds are hard to determine; clouds in the sky are indistinguishable from the scum washed up with the surf’. These paintings explore shifting boundaries and disintegration, encompassing death and desire, sexuality and language.
Her portrait, landscape and still life paintings merge together harmoniously. In a landscape painting, the sitter although not visible has left signs of presence through different objects.
Anj Smith explore identity, ambiguity and gender in her enigmatic androgynous portraits. Within these works, she acknowledges how clothing is used as a tool to project a certain identity. Intricate botanical and animal imagery also permeates the paintings, from gecko, pangolin to monkeys and rodents that morph into a headdress.
After completing a residency at the Women Art Library in Goldsmiths in conjunction with the Being Human Festival, street artist and printmaker Aida and artist friend and archivist Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski are presenting an exhibition titled Empowered Printwork.
Being Human Festival is a festival demonstrating the strength and diversity of the humanities, and how they can help us to understand ourselves, our relationships with others, and the challenges we face in a changing world.
The Empowered Printwork exhibition showcases newly created posters for Radical New Cross inspired by a collection of hundreds of posters from the women’s movements of the 1970s and 80s as well as a selection of posters from the Women Art Library archive about equality, freedom, solidarity, diversity and women rights.
Powerful and colourful posters feature slogans from ‘ Resist, Reject, Rethink’ to the infamous Aida’s Hashtag series ‘A hashtag might not save the world but… women might’ .
Empowered Printwork Women art Library 310 New Cross Rd, Goldsmiths SE14 6NW
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