Location: Mauritshuis, The Hague CO₂ Emissions: Approximately 22,000 tons over the past 10 years Focus: Protecting Girls and Young Women – The Fight Against Femicide Counterpart: Shirin Neshat – Women of Allah Series Context & Connection Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) is an enduring symbol of beauty, dignity, and quiet strength. The girl’s gaze—gentle yet resolute—captures an intimate moment of individuality, where purity and grace exist untouched. Her expression invites us to reflect on the value of the individual and the need to protect innocence and promise. Yet, in today’s world, this vision is fragile: millions of girls and young women face violence, discrimination, and femicide, their lives threatened by systemic failures to protect them. Shirin Neshat’s...
Location: National Museum, OsloCO₂ Emissions: Approximately 25,000 tons over the past 10 years Focus: Climate Change as a Global Crisis Counterpart: Huma Bhabha – Untitled (2019) Context & Connection Edvard Munch’s The Scream (1893) is an iconic expression of existential dread. The figure’s silent scream echoes across a chaotic, swirling landscape—a visual cry of anguish that captures humanity’s deepest fears. Today, this fear mirrors our response to the climate crisis, as rising temperatures, wildfires, and environmental collapse spiral out of control. Munch’s work becomes an enduring symbol of humanity’s collective anxiety in the face of an uncertain, collapsing world. Huma Bhabha’s Untitled (2019) provides a contemporary counterpoint that is equally haunting. With raw, visceral imagery, Bhabha fuses human and alien...
Location: Uffizi Gallery, FlorenceCO₂ Emissions: Approximately 36,000 tons over the past 10 years Focus: The Active Role of the Younger Generation Counterpart: Marina DeBris – Washed Ashore Context & Connection Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (1484-1486) is an ode to beauty, creation, and rebirth. Emerging gracefully from the sea, Venus symbolizes harmony, love, and humanity’s reverence for nature. The ocean—depicted as a source of purity and renewal—has inspired art, culture, and mythology for centuries. Yet, in today’s world, the seas Botticelli celebrated are in peril. Plastic pollution, climate change, and human negligence are choking the oceans, threatening marine life and ecosystems that sustain us all. Marina DeBris’ Washed Ashore (ongoing) offers a stark and urgent counterpoint. Using ocean waste—plastic...
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York. CO₂ Emissions: Approximately 38,000 tons over the past 10 years Focus: Reducing Light Pollution Counterpart: Daan Roosegaarde – Seeing Stars Context & Connection Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night (1889) is a timeless celebration of the night sky—an ethereal swirl of stars, moonlight, and dreams captured with bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Painted from memory during his time in a French asylum, Van Gogh transformed a dark, silent night into a luminous masterpiece that evokes wonder and peace. Yet, the beauty Van Gogh immortalized is disappearing. Today, over 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies, unable to see the very stars that inspired his work. Daan Roosegaarde’s Seeing Stars (2021) offers a...
Location: Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamCO₂ Emissions: Approximately 45,000 tons over the past 10 years. Focus: Holding Leaders and Institutions Accountable Counterpart: Kara Walker – Fons Americanus Context & Connection Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (1642) is a masterpiece of leadership and collective effort. Depicting the Amsterdam civic guard, the painting celebrates community, order, and shared responsibility. Yet beneath its grandeur lies a reflection of power and hierarchy—those at the center of the work dominate, while others recede into shadow. It reminds us of the impact and visibility of leadership and the consequences of those who act—or fail to act. Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus (2019) serves as a striking counterpoint. Installed in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, Walker’s monumental fountain is a critical...
