Star artists have always produced installations during various UN climate meets. But the proliferation of public art during the Copenhagen meet was remarkable. These installations in public spaces helped ordinary citizens to reflect upon the issues at hand.
Seven meter project: A project installed all around the city was meant to highlight the sea level rise of 7 metres when all polar ice melts. Produced by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, its most remarkable piece had naked skin-and-bone climate refugees in knee-deep water in the canal outside Bella Centre, the official venue for negotiations.
One tonne cube: What does a tonne of carbon dioxide look like? Danish artist Alfio Bonanno and his US counterpart Christophe Cornubert wanted to show what exactly. They made a tonne of the poison tangible in a cube of 27 feet a side, floating on Saint Jorgen lake opposite Copenhagen Planetarium. It was illuminated with information and graphics which underscored that the cube was the size of CO2 every person in the industrialized world emits every month. It also reminded that the same amount was emitted by US citizen only in a fortnight.
Ice bear project: Created by British artist Mark Coreth commissioned by wwf Arctic Project this was a polar bear sculpted from a block of ice on the first day of the conference. As the conference ended the bear melted to show a bronze skeleton. The change forced the parents to explain a lot to their children, the sculpture’s ardent admirers.
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