Haroon Mirza, a leading figure in contemporary art, was born in London in 1977, where he lives and works. Alice Audouin: How and when did you start integrating solar energy in your work ? Haroon Mirza:I fell into it by accident! I had to set up an installation at Villa Savoye, a space where using [...]
In 2022, the art world, seemingly fully recovered from the pandemic, was dominated, once again, by the issue of the climate crisis. In the context of an angry civil society, symbolized by Just Stop Oil’s museum protests, 2022 was a watershed year, with numerous new ecological commitments made by arts institutions, such as the Venice [...]
After a scorching summer, October was the hottest month since records began back in 1945. These upheavals, which continue to increase and prematurely exceed irreversible thresholds, are also accelerating reflection and artistic creation. The idea of fragility takes up an important place in the French current art scene, being at the heart of the 16th [...]
The new Paris+ fair by Art Basel represents a major change to the world of art fairs, and particularly the Parisian artistic landscape, signifying a qualitative leap compared to the city’s former art fair FIAC. However, does this leap also extend to environmental considerations? From the viewpoint of including artists linked to environmental themes, it [...]
You're a pioneer of art in relation to the environment, commencing from when you were a student with the work Vatnajökull (the sound of) (2007). In this artwork, you connected a live telephone line to an Icelandic glacier, via an underwater microphone. Anyone in the world could then call a number and hear the sound [...]
In your personal exhibition here in Venice, "Medusa Alga Laguna", you show a particular interest in the jellyfish and algae of the lagoon ecosystem. Sargassum algae is an invasive species that arrived recently here in Venice, which is creating major problems in the lagoon, just like jellyfish, which are also on the rise. Their proliferation [...]
Your work raises awareness of the effects of globalization, including its consequences on the environment and urbanization. How did these issues appear in your work? In the 1990s, the end of the Cold War moved the world from confrontation to integration. The rise of the internet and the easier access to transportation increased international communication. [...]
Art of Change 21 (the editor of Impact Art News) will defend the major role of artists in the ecological transition, mobilise young people, and create a dialogue between art, innovation and climate during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. From the 1st to the 12th of November, Art of Change 21 will present [...]
What role do environmental issues play in your work? Current challenges - such as the melting glaciers, the extinction of plant species, the mutation of animals or pandemics, and how humanity is called to coexist with these realities - become a territory of endless learning for me and my artistic exploration becomes a way of [...]
Exhibitions over the summer took us on a journey across the seas and oceans, to discover the mysteries of water, from La Mer Imaginaire (The Imaginary Sea) at the Fondation Carmignac in Porquerolles to the Territoire de l'Eau (Territories of Water) at the Fondation Schneider, Wattwiller. In France, the artistic events of this autumn promise a [...]
