Brandalism 2015: COP21 Paris Climate Talks
Geschreven op 9-12-2015 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Klimaat
Two days before the launch of the UN COP21 Climate Conference, 600 posters were installed in outdoor media spaces across Paris.
82 Artists from 19 different countries made artworks to challenge the corporate takeover of COP21 and to reveal the connections between advertising, the promotion of consumerism and climate change.
Brandalism is a revolt against corporate control of the visual realm. Drawing inspiration from anti-advertising movements that came before us, we began in July 2012 in England with a small team in a van.
Over subsequent interventions, Brandalism has spread across ten UK cities and most recently to Paris for the UN climate talks. Armed with high-vis jackets, ‘H60’ allen keys and creative artworks, these networks are skilled up in reclaiming outdoor advertising space.
Following on in the guerilla art traditions of the 20th Century and taking inspiration from Agitprop, Situationist and Street Art movements, the Brandalism project sees artists from around the world collaborate to challenge the authority and legitimacy of commercial images within public space and within our culture.
Brandalism has shared skills and techniques for ‘subvertising’ – the art of subverting advertisements. We start from the democratic conviction that the street is a site of communication, which belongs to the citizens and communities who live there. Our interventions are a rebellion against the visual assault of media giants and advertising moguls who have a stranglehold over messages and meaning in our public spaces, through which they force-feed us with images and messages to keep us insecure, unhappy, and shopping.
See also: UN Climate Change Conference COP 21: The 2015 Paris Climate Conference
