The Climate Emergency in 50 Rounds, curated by artist Ethan Rafal, is the main exhibition at Fotobokfestival Oslo 2020.
The exhibition contains works made by 50 photo book artists and artist collectives whose work urgently responds to the climate crisis. The artists represent 36 different countries from six continents, and their projects have been created in regions that span the entire planet. Their photo books offer a striking comparative analysis of a global phenomenon that has reached a state of emergency.
The festival is designed as a space for “direct pedagogy” — an expanded library built for public engagement, dedicated to the movement of knowledge from the institution to the street. The physical exhibition is presented in three subject areas, each of which occupies its own container — Nature: Process and Representation; Documents and Evidence; and Zines and Direct Action. Also included in the exhibition are the artists related video projects— the works range from meditations on humanity’s relationship with nature in the 21st century, to the documenting of experimental protests against multinational corporations.
We have gathered these projects in Oslo as a call to action. Knowledge. Cooperation. Internationalism. The Climate Emergency has now gone past the make-or-break moment. The systems that precariously sustained us are crumbling before our eyes. Ultimately, the path away from this crisis is not to be found through these 50 artists, but through the actions of the viewer, you— individuals joining forces to act collectively. We must come together to confront state and corporate extraction enterprises that have precipitated this crisis. The endgame is a survivable planet that offers hope for an open future.
ARTISTSIgnacio Acosta (CHL) Sammy Baloji (COG) Mandy Barker (GBR) Gilvan Barreto (BRA) Erik Berglin (SWE) Oksana Yushko & Arthur Bondar (RUS/UKR) Suzette Bousema (NLD) Drew Brown (USA) Madeline Cass (USA) Paul Cupido (NLD) Russel Albert Daniels (NAVAJO/WINNEBAGO) Lena Dobrowolska & Teo Ormond-Skeaping (GBR/POL) Sandrine Elberg (FRA) Sarah Piegay Espenon (FRA) Peter Funch (DEN) Theresa Ganz (USA) Jon Gorospe (ESP/NOR) Philippe Graton (FRA) Aleksey Kondratyev (KAZ) Susanne Kriemann (NLD) Minny Lee (KOR) Michael Light (USA) Marcela Magno (ARG) Halldora Magnusdottir (ISL) Rita Marhaug (NOR)
Matteo de Mayda (ITA) Alan McFetridge (GBR) Yoshinori Mizutani (JPN) Karim Mottaghi (IRN) Kari Ørvik (USA) George Osodi (NGA) Paula Pedrosa (BRA) Yan Wang Preston (CHN) Maria Primo (ESP) Meghann Riepenhoff (USA) Josué Rivas (OTOMI/MEX) Zied Ben Romdhane (TUN) Anastasia Samoylova (RUS) Sayler-Morris (Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris) (USA) Ronny Sen (IND) Małgorzata Stankiewicz (POL) Ian Teh (MYS) Woong Soak Teng (SGP) Gihan Tubbeh (PER) Ian van Coller (ZAF) Veejay Villafranca (PHL)Corinne Vionnet (FRA) Sergej Vutuc (HRV/DEU) Tomas Wüthrich (CHE) Mario Zamora (ESP)
ABOUT THE CURATOREthan Rafal (b. 1983, New Jersey) is an artist and photographer based in San Francisco, California and Oslo, Norway. His work deals with the individual and collective experience of violence, and the ways in which subsequent representations of violence inform personal and national mythologies. He teaches, mentors, helps run an art space, collaborates with social practice and activist groups, and curates projects in Europe and North America.
Rafal’s work functions at the intersection of photography, expanded art practice, social science research, and activism. His principal output is through photography, books, installation, and a unique presentation method that is equal parts performance art and oral tradition story telling. Major presentations of a 12-year project, Shock and Awe, were conducted in 100 venues across 14 countries. This book, and its associated performance, was presented at museums, universities, but also in many non-traditional venues, including public spaces, often created for the work itself.
