CARBON ARTS | creative solutions for a changing climate find us on: 
David McCandless is a self-proclaimed Data journalist, and has created this excellent website InformationisBeautiful.net, and a number of books, compiling examples of beautiful images that communicate data – or how the world works. There are a number of interesting climate related examples, including this one on the number of climate denialist scientists in the US.
Simon Starling‘s artwork seeks to reveal the hidden processes behind and interconnectedness of our actions, in particular in our use of natural resources. In One Ton II Starling presents five identical platinum prints that together represent a material consumption of one ton of platinum. That the photo itself depicts the process of platinum mining in South Africa is what makes Starling’s work unique in it’s ability to challenge our individual (and artistic) responsibility for environmental outcomes. Other works from this Turner Prize winner, such as Tabernas Desert Run 2004, display a similar circular and poetic method.
Highwaterline is a public art project of artist, Eve Mosher, who in 2007 walked 70 miles of coastline within New York City leaving behind her a line of blue chalk marking the level of predicted sea rise of 10 ft. As Mosher walked the line, she interacted with curious residents and was able to engage with them on the subject of climate change.
A collection of essays by writers, artist and scientists on the role of arts in climate change, Long Horizons is an excellent contribution of inspiring and thoughtful reflections. Supported by the British Council and curated by Julie’s Bicycle, this is recommended reading.
Taiwanese artist Vincent J.F Huang installed Penguin Suicides underneath the Millenium Bridge in London in March 2010 with a letter from ‘Penguins Representative Bureau of London’ appearing on his website to explain the creatures’ act of protest and personal sacrifice in the name of global warming awareness raising. The plight of animals in the North and South poles is poignantly represented by this work, which attracted much attention.
Feral Robotic Dogs is a project initiated by artist, Natalie Jeremijenko, who heads up xDesign Environmental Health Clinic at New York University. Robotic dogs, desperate to perform more useful tasks than the ones they were programmed for, are released into contaminated environments where they can ‘sniff’ out harmful chemicals and communicate this information to interested community members via an open source platform. A playful introduction to a serious topic, feral robotic dogs is one of a series of projects by Jeremijenko that explore the use of art and technology to effect social and environmental change.
English sculptor, Antony Gormley‘s Amazonian Field has been installed a number of times, most recently at the Royal Academy of Art’s 2009 exhibition, Earth: Art of a changing world. A vast number of small human figures fill a room and pour through the door, looking up at us with large eyes, expectantly, probingly. Intentionally crafted from the earth itself, the clay figures press upon us the vastness of collection is a reminder of our population explosion, as well as an invitation for collective action. Gormley has thought much about the role of art in a changing climate, stating in a recent piece for the British Council: ‘Is it possible to re-think art and take it from this finished-object status and make it into a verb, a participatory, open space, a place of transformation and the exchange of ideas and reflection on our state and status?’
“Julie’s Bicycle was created almost three years ago by a cross section of people from across the music industry who felt strongly about the need for concerted action to improve the environmental impact of the music business. We are a not for profit company with a small staff and a board made up of senior figures from the music industry.” – ony Wadsworth, Julie’s Bicycle Chair and BPI Chairman.
Julie’s bicycle has achieved much in assisting the music, and now the theatre, industry to address their own carbon footprint and leverage their role to reach out to the broader community to affect change.
A project of the RSA and Canon Europe, the WEEE man is made up of all the electronic waste that one typical UK person generates in a lifetime, from fridges to stereos to stove-tops. Created to illustrate and communicate the purposes of the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Directive, the WEEE man first appeared along the Thames in London in 2006, and was supported by Canon Europe. A fabulous visualisation feat, the WEEE man is an excellent example of the power of art to communicate the impacts of individual consumer choices, and generate support for legislation to address the need to recycle.
The Tree Hugger Project installs touching scenes like these in various locations around the world, including in Copenhagen and Poznan at the time of the annual UN Conference on Climate Change, to draw attention to, and help us rediscover a tender connection with nature. The project encourages people to install these works in their local environment.