CARBON ARTS | creative solutions for a changing climate find us on: 
Water Solar Harp, by Olaf Myer
Olaf Myer, a Melbourne artist, produced this concept of a solar water harp during a renewable energy residency at Federation Square. The work engages the community in understanding water and solar usage using an interactive experience involving sound installation and renewable energy technology.
Strandbeest, by Theo Jansen
Theo Jansen has devoted over 15 years to building ‘Standbeests’ – incredible creatures that are remarkable feats of engineering as well as stunning conceptual works of art. Strandbeests, although enormous, co-exist peacefully with their surrounds – cleverly reading the wind, water and movement in the Dutch beaches where they live, all without the help of modern electronics. Futuristic yet caveman-like in the simplicity of their design and capable of moving several tons of weight with simple encouragement, Jansen’s work inspires both awe and hope that we too can adapt with strength to a changing environment.
Ten Trenches, by Michael and Tim Cohen
Ten Trenches was a collaboration between the Australian brothers Michael and Tim Cohen, one an artist the other a climate scientist. The work explored the archaeological and geological history of the property of the Bundanon Trust – the Arthur Boyd Estate in Bundanon, NSW – in relation to sea level rise. Were sea levels higher in the past? Would they be in the future in a climate changed world? How did and how would society respond and adapt. A series of sound and image performances and installations by artists generated conversation with the scientific work and discovery of the dig in a unique multi-disciplinary interaction.
The Canary Project is Edward Morris and Susannah Sayler, two Americans who have successfully set out to meet the aims of this organisation to energise action on climate change through the production of visual art, design and events that increase understanding of climate change with the public. Since 2006, The Canary Project has generated and supported a diverse body of work, and remains one of only two US arts organisations solely dedicated to art about climate change.
RETHINK emerged at the time of the UNFCCC’s Climate Conference in Copenhagen 2009 as an exhibition of 26 Nordic artists responding to climate change. Housed in various galleries and venues throughout the city, the RETHINK exhibition will travel through the Nordic countries in 2010. Along with the exhibition is a commitment to continuing dialogue and REFLECTion as offered through a publication of multi-disciplinary essays accompanying the exhibition as well as an online blog forum.
Ken Yonetani is a Japanese artist resident in Australia. He explores themes of fragility and consumerism in the context of climate change. Recent works have focussed on the Great Barrier Reef, including an installation that showed at the 53rd Venice biennale, where models served cake at 1pm every day, cake in the form of coral. The pollution of the Great Barrier Reef by sugar cane plantations is only one connection made explicit in this provoking and beautiful installation, all made of sugar.
Monometers, by Michael Pinsky
Michael Pinsky transformed Belgium’s four largest wind turbines into an ecological monitor or meter displaying the energy and water consumption and noise and waste generation of a night-time festival. These were indicated by the movement of rings of light up and down the turbines communicating the ecological pulse of the festival to the surrounding region.
Ecolabs is a not-for-profit organisation – a network of visual artists and designers – working for ecological literacy through the creation of materials, projects and programs that foster a transformational vision for a sustainable future. EcoLabs also publishes Ecomag, a design publication about systems change. Calls are out for the second edition on Ecological Economics, submissions due May 2010.
Nature Strikes Back, an exhibition at the National Gallery of Denmark
The Nature Strikes Back exhibition, timed to coincide with the UNFCCC Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, charts the treatment of nature throughout the history of Western Art. The exhibition emphasises the influence of scientific discovery as well as philosophy on our relationship to nature, and challenges the notion that man has control over nature. Above all it highlights the role of art in holding up a mirror to our psyche, and questions how our troubled relationship with nature will end.
Tipping Point is a UK based organisation dedicated to harnessing imagination in the fight to stabilise the climate. A network-based organisation, Tipping Point connects artists and climate scientists through events, conference and public debates. In addition, Tipping Point provides science briefings for artists and works with arts organisations to address their own climate impact and potential for leveraging change.