Moving Towards a Balanced Earth: Kick the (Carbon) Habit
World Environment Day 2008

In honour of the annual United Nations World Environment Day (WED) celebrations on 5 June, the Natural World Museum, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Te Papa are pleased to present Moving Towards a Balanced Earth: Kick the Carbon Habit in partnership with the Ministry for the Environment and the New Zealand Government.

For the 2008 World Environment Day, UNEP continues to explore and address the theme of climate change, with an emphasis on moving toward a low carbon economy. Background: The Earth maintains a natural carbon balance. Under normal conditions, the system gradually corrects imbalances and returns to a balanced state. However the rate at which humans are now burning fossil fuels, introducing excesses of carbon into the atmosphere, has surpassed Earth’s ability to maintain balance. As a result, the Earth’s climate has begun to experience massive change.

Nature strives for balance. Carbon balance is one part of nature’s process to maintain stases. Humans, collectively and individually, also strive for balance.

What does it mean to be in balance as individuals and communities? What is the connection between the Earth’s imbalance and our imbalance as a species? Can nature serve as a model and mentor for discovering a way of living in balance, for coming into a state of equilibrium? The excess of atmospheric carbon is just one symptom of our environmental problems; water and air pollution, toxic waste—all of these are also symptoms of imbalance. The symptoms are expressed on both planetary and personal levels. Other species may adapt or become extinct. How will humans adapt?

Participating Artists:
AES & F Group – Russia, Ken Aptekar – USA, Lise Bjorne – Norway, Lien Botha – South Africa, Antonio Briceno – Venezuela, Enrique Martinez Celaya – Cuba, Alison Clouston – New Zealand, Shane Cotton – New Zealand, Bill Culbert and Ralph Hotere – New Zealand, Geoff Dixon – New Zealand, Chris Drury – UK, Mounir Fatmi – Morocco, Peter Fend – USA, Isa Genzken – Germany, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov – Russia, Walangari Karntawarra – Australia, Ik-Joong Kang – Korea, Gabriela Morawetz – Poland, Susan Norrie – Australia, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba – Vietnam, Susan Plum – Mexico, Ken Rinaldo & Amy Youngs – USA, Alexis Rockman – USA, Harriet Russell – UK, Soledad Salame – Chile, Lars Siltberg – Sweden, Cyprien Tokoudagba – Benin, Bill Viola – USA






Envisioning Change: Melting Ice / A Hot Topic
View images from this exhibition in our gallery


Lucy + Jorge Orta, Fluvial Intervention Unit



Monaco Installation View

Nobel Peace Center
Oslo, Norway
June 5 – August 20, 2007

BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts
Brussels, Belgium
October 6, 2007 – January 6, 2008

Ministry of Culture
Monaco
February 18 – March 16, 2008

Field Museum
Chicago, United States
April 18 – September 6, 2008

About the Exhibit:
For UN World Environment Day 2007, the Natural World Museum in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme produced an exhibition that addresses the theme of Climate Change from a global perspective - the melting and thawing of ice, snow and permafrost are environment-altering changes taking place around the world- from the Andes to the Himalayas to the melting ice caps of the Poles. "Change" the transition that occurs from same to different, the moment of transformation, a change of position or action. Change used in reference to our environment can describe the transformation of material substance -- from ice to water, liquid to gas - the changing conditions of our rivers, our rapidly melting glaciers,, and the overall changes in the earth's climate. Change requires organisms and organizations alike to adapt to new environmental conditions. Metaphorically, change can also refer to the transformation of society's mindset to act in a positive way individually and collectively to work toward a more sustainable future.

Participating Artists:
Subhankar Banerjee – India, Robert Bateman – Canada, Alfio Bonano – Denmark, David Buckland – UK, Christo & Jeanne-Claude – US, Margaret Cogswell – US, Sebastian Copeland – France, Xavier Cortada – US, Siobhan Davies – UK, Era and Don Farnsworth – US, Free Range Studio – US, Helen and Newton Harrison – US, Mona Hatoum – Lebanon, David and Hi-Jin Hodge – US & Korea, Gary Hume – UK, Laura Horelli – Finland, The Icelandic Love Corporation – Iceland, Ichi Ikeda – Japan, Sveln Flygari Johansen – Norway, Chris Jordan – US, Kahn Selesnick – England, Sant Khalsa – US, Fred Ivar Ultsi Klemetsen – Norway, Angela Lergo – Spain, Jonas Liverφd – Sweden, Dalibar Martinis – Croatia, Jacob McKean – US, Gilles Mingasson – France, David Nash – Wales, Lucy + Jorge Orta – England & Argentina, Sven Pεhlsson – Norway, Shana and Robert Parke-Harrison – US, Cecilia Paredes – Peru, Andrea Polli – US, Ana Prvacki – Singapore, Anne Senstad – Norway, HM Queen Sonya of Norway, David Trubridge - New Zealand, Strijdom van der Merwe – South Africa, Theo Wujcik – US, Yoshiaki Kaihatsu – Japan, Justin Young – US.

This exhibit was produced in collaboration with the BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Nobel Peace Center, Monaco Ministry of Culture, and the United Nations Environment Programme and made possible through the generous support of Autodesk, Inc. and the Norwegian Ministry of Environment.

View press release