Brandalism 2015

After their 2014 intervention, the Brandalism project gathered over 80 renowned artists from 19 countries, many of whom featured at Banksy’s Dismaland exhibition, and installed more than 600 artworks critiquing the corporate takeover of the COP21 climate talks in advertising spaces across Paris, on Black Friday, ahead of the United Nations summit, which began on Monday, November 30th, 2015.

Amidst the French state of emergency banning all public gatherings following the attacks on November 13th in Paris (as a result, for example, over 10,000 pairs of shoes on the Place de la Republique replaced marchers who were set to take part in a climate cancelled protest), the Brandalism project has worked with Parisians to insert unauthorised artworks across the city, placed in advertising spaces owned by JC Decaux – one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising firms and an official sponsor to the COP21 climate talks. The aim is to highlight the links between advertising, consumerism, fossil fuel dependency, politics and climate change.

Joe Elan from Brandalism said: “By sponsoring the climate talks, major polluters such as Air France and GDF-Suez-Engie can promote themselves as part of the solution – when actually they are part of the problem.”

Elan continued: “We are taking their spaces back because we want to challenge the role advertising plays in promoting unsustainable consumerism. Because the advertising industry force feeds our desires for products created from fossil fuels, they are intimately connected to causing climate change. As is the case with the Climate talks and their corporate sponsored events, outdoor advertising ensures that those with the most amount of money are able to ensure that their voices get heard above all else.”

Other posters called on people to take to the streets as part of the Climate Games, the world’s largest disobedient adventure game, or protesting the Solutions 21 conference – a large corporate exposition being held at the Grand Palais during the climate talks.