As the French state cracks down on public protests, a group of artists has devised a creative—and clandestine—way to illustrate public outrage at what they call the “corporate takeover” of the ongoing COP21 United Nations climate talks in Paris.
Naming their campaign “Brandalism,” over 80 artists from 19 countries have plastered the French capital with 600 unauthorized pieces of art taking the form of spoof advertisements to critique the role of multinationals, from AirFrance to Dow Chemical, in the summit.
The works were placed in real spots owned by the advertising corporation JC Decaux, one of the many corporate sponsors of the climate summit. One image, included below, takes aim at Vokswagen’s large-scale diesel emissions-fixing scandal.
“Following the tragic events on 13th November in Paris, the government has chosen to ban the big civil society mobilizations—but big business events can continue,” said Bill Posters, a spokesperson for Brandalism, in a press statement. “The multinationals responsible for climate change can keep green-washing their destructive business models, but the communities directly impacted by them are silenced.”
“It’s now more important than ever to call out their lies and speak truth to power,” Posters continued. “We cannot leave the climate talks in the hands of politicians and corporate lobbyists who created this mess in the first place.”
The city-wide installation includes the contributions of well-known artists such as Paul Insect and Kennard Phillips, some of whom were featured in Banksy’s satirical “Dismaland” this summer. The public display, and the process of installing it on Black Friday, is captured in the following video released by Brandalism, which has pulled similar “subvertising” stunts in cities across the United Kingdom.
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