Carbon Arts

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Photography

Running the Numbers

Gyre, by Chris Jordan (depicts 2.4 million pieces of plastic from the Pacific Ocean)

Depicting the scale of mass human consumption in his series of photos ‘Running the Numbers I and II’ Chris Jordan stretches our ability to conceive of  this mad reality. More sculptural than photographic, the work is meticulous and the results poetic and startling. His ability to elevate statistics to fine art is a unique and powerful reminder of the continuing relevance of art in communicating the impact we are having on the planet.

NorthSouthEastWest

North South East West was a project of The Climate Group, an international NGO focused on business and government leadership. The project saw 10 Magnum photographers travel the globe collecting stories of adaptation and mitigation to climate change. The resulting exhibition toured a number of countries, and was featured in a dedicated Climate Pavillon at the 2007 Venice Biennale. The book features essays by global leaders, such as Tony Blair, pointing to the urgency for action and need for leadership at the highest levels.

The Landscape of Climate Change

Susannah Sayler and husband Ed Morris embarked on The Landscape of Climate Change, a multi-year project to photograph places around the globe where the impacts of climate change were evident, and to document both adaptation and mitigation efforts. Now an extensive list of sites makes up this body of work, accessible through The Canary Project webiste, an organisation that was born through this photographic endeavor.

One Ton

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.