ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Press release ECONARIO at COP15 CBD Montreal
29 November 2022 version 2.2
THIJS BIERSTEKER x UNESCO x NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM LONDON X ENB X WOVEN STUDIO
Every day this data-driven artwork is flourishing or declining, to visualise the progress made at the COP15 in the protection of all life on earth.
At the centre of the most important Biodiversity Conference that’s been held in years, the artwork Econario, a 5.5-meter high kinetic plant, will sprout or decline. Reflecting the progress made at the negotiations table about the preservation of biodiversity.
The artwork, created by artist Thijs Biersteker in collaboration with scientists from the Natural History Museum and UNESCO, will be reflecting every key moment of the COP15 by elegantly flourishing or rapidly declining. Every day the work will function as the Biodiversity thermometer of progress at the heart of the conference. At 6 PM there will be a key moment as the artwork summarises that day's results based on the data from the famous Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The work can be seen as a monument in motion for countries and the world to show the progress and keep the policymakers on their toes as they walk by towards the negotiation room where they make decisions to ensure the survival of the species and ecosystems that underpin human civilisation.
““For UNESCO, making peace with the planet depends on taking immediate action in three areas: we must develop scientific knowledge, we must support the conservation of ecosystems, and we must educate and empower youth. Everyone – civil society, scientists, decision-makers, journalists, artists and creators – has a role to play.” -
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““The work is a monument in motion for this monumental COP15. A symbolic thermometer of the conference. Providing insight and provoking urgency at the location where we agree on the survival of millions of species, including us.“ ”
““This is such a powerful installation because it brings home the impact of the decisions being made right there and then in Montreal. Complex scientific data is made simple via this single seedling which has the ability to deliver heart-warming or heart-wrenching news.””
For this work artist Thijs Biersteker and scientists Andy Purvis and Adriana de la Palma have seamlessly brought together science and art to turn abstract policy into something that makes you feel the facts. The eye-catching artwork translates scientific data and will help turn abstract commitments into tangible, understandable and visual experiences. Based on the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), a metric produced by the Natural History Museum, the artwork moves like a small fragile seedling, growing or withering. The BII is a rigorous approach to estimating biodiversity loss that combines data on ecosystems and species populations with data on human-caused infliction.
Thijs Biersteker, known for collaborating with the top climate scientists in the world and using their data streams to create interactive artworks that aim to turn climate facts into feelings, has created this work to show the importance of every sprouting seed in this time of ecosystem collapse.
The work’s elegant motion, like a small fragile seed finding its way up through the ground, in contrast with its industrial aesthetics, shows the world’s entanglement and how they should work together. The artwork is created at Woven Studio, founded by Biersteker, where high-end sustainable artworks are produced that leave the studio with a material passport so the works can be dismantled by the next generation.
The artwork is located in the main conference hall at booth #807.
CREDITS ARTWORK
‘Econario’ (2022)
Artist: Thijs Biersteker
Scientific lead: Prof Andy Purvis and Dr Adriana De Palma
Collaboration with Natural History Museum London, UNESCO, Meriem Bouamrane
Studio Director: Sophie de Krom
Technical Engineer: Tom Bekkers
Technical Build: Bastiaan Kennedy, Sander van Gelder
Technical Development: Jochem Esser, JBS Technics
Frontend Developer: Bas van Oerle
Sustainably Created by: Woven studio
Thanks to: Eline Flick, Brad Irwin, Camilla Tham, Katy Payne, Manoel Giffoni Da Silveira Netto, Matthieu Guevel, LVMH, Alexandre Capelli, Dennis van der Sluijs
ABOUT THIJS BIERSTEKER AND WOVEN STUDIO
Thijs Biersteker is one of the worlds leading artists in the field of combining art and climate science. With his team at Woven Studio, he brings alive scientific data through art installations that provoke insight into the ecological challenges ahead. By collaborating with the world’s top scientists and institutions he can turn their climate data into art installations that make the overwhelming challenges ahead accessible, understandable and relatable. “If the research does not reach us, then how can the research teach us”. Topics like climate change, air pollution, ocean plastic, and biodiversity loss are turned into immersive experiences that travel the world to create awareness.
He collaborates with scientists from UNESCO, Natural History Museum London, ESA, Stefano Mancuso and many others. He is a 3 x TED speaker and his work has been creating connections between science and art at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain Paris (FR), Today Art Museum (CN), Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL), Science Gallery/(IE), SXSW (USA), the Barbican centre (UK) and many more.
The work Econario and others are created in his Woven Studio which has become the frontier in the sustainable creation of hi-end artworks. Using emission calculations and recycled and organic materials, all documented in a Material Passport, the works are easy to be recycled when they are not needed to raise awareness anymore.
www.thijsbiersteker.com
https://www.instagram.com/thijs_biersteker
www.wovenstudio.io
https://www.instagram.com/woven_studio_/
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ABOUT UNESCO
UNESCO's mission is to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
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ABOUT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Media contact: Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151 Email: press@nhm.ac.uk
The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most-visited indoor attraction in the UK last year. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world.
It is custodian of one of the world’s most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million specimens accessed by researchers from all over the world both in person and via over 30 billion digital data downloads to date. The Museum’s 350 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency from biodiversity loss through to the sustainable extraction of natural resources.
The Museum uses its global reach and influence to meet its mission to create advocates for the planet - to inform, inspire and empower everyone to make a difference for nature. We welcome millions of visitors through our doors each year, our website has had 17 million visits in the last year and our touring exhibitions have been seen by around 20 million people in the last 10 years.