Artist and surfer Olivier Millagou (b. 1974, Toulon), based in Bandol, France, shares his philosophy of art as a sustainable practice - combining localism, ecology and a sparing approach to creation. You've adopted a frugal way of living and creating, inspired by your passion for surfing. How did the link between the two come about? [...]
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 [...]
Like the jellyfish and algae proliferating in the Venetian lagoon underneath this year’s Biennale (read our article on the 2022 Venice Biennale here), the number of exhibitions on environmental issues, more thankfully, continues to grow. In particular, water and marine ecosystems are the subject of numerous new biennales, shows, and art spaces. Back on land, [...]
The preciosity of the crocus flower is at the heart of the Crocus Sativus Fleur du bonheur project by young French artist Guillaume Barth, which combines poetry, botany and mysticism. Barth’s interest in the saffron crocus began in 2017 with a trip to Iran, and the reading of Sufi poems. The contemplation of flowers - and [...]
The forest is now emerging as an exhibition theme in its own right in the field of contemporary art, and is no longer just in natural history museums. Last year, the Fondation Cartier in Paris hosted an exhibition on an unprecedented scale on the theme of the forest: "Nous, les arbres” (We trees) (July 12, [...]
The Brazilian government is muzzling the fight against illegal logging, intensive farming and illegal mining in the country, destroying the Amazon forest while its inhabitants are already struggling against the pressures of global warming. The artists of Brazil - from the Amerindians tribes to those from Brazilians cities - are building a strong dynamic to [...]
Sara Favriau, born in 1983, shifts scales, symbols and objects - often with humor - bringing out the meaning of fortuitous, sometimes accidental encounters. If trees occupy an important place in this game of chance, they are also of interest to the artist because of triple temporality, articulating the past, the present and the future. [...]
"The forest is what drives me, amazes me, makes me doubt, makes me want to fight, to create and to see tomorrow. I am learning to accept that I will only be part of it as a loving visitor, as an animal that, crossing the edges, remembers who he could have been, but also who [...]
Art of Change 21 - How did you start to deal with environmental issues in your work? I have always been drawn to the natural world. My father is a geophysicist, and some of my first memories are of the small museum of geology in the building where he worked. At its entrance was an [...]
Since 2016, the UK-based researcher and artist Susan Schuppli has been dedicated to an ongoing, multi-year research project entitled “Learning from Ice”, which explores the politics of cold and focuses on the Cryosphere. Throughout this project, the aim of “Learning from Ice” has been to develop a wider knowledge around ice including ice core science, [...]
