Artist sets up fat lady by the Danish national symbol ‘The little Mermaid’ during COP15, Climate conference.

The 3 metres high bronze-sculpture ’Survival of the Fattest’ is set up in the water next to the mermaid. Set up by the Danish artist Jens Galschiot. The erection is a part of the art happening SevenMeters.net. By confronting the nice unrealistic mermaid with the double-standard Justitia-figurine of the real world, Galschiot wants to put focus on the hypocrisy in the climate debate.

 

Until after the climate conference (COP15) the sculpture will be standing in order to confront and go into dialogue with the many tourists and participants of the conference who will be walking by ‘The little Mermaid’ during the period. They will get something to think about. 

The sculpture ’Survival of the Fattest’ represents an overweighed Justitia figurine which is sitting on the back of a thin worn-out African man, who stands under water from his hips and down. “.

It is a symbol of the double-standard and self-righteousness of the rich world. With her scales in her hand she is sitting on the back of the starving man (the Third World), and at the same time she is pretending to exert justice and do what is best for him.

The artist lets the fat lady say:“I’m sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under the burden. I would do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back”.Justitia (western goddess of justice)

The Western World and the Danes are sitting like The little Mermaid on a stone or like the fat lady in a safe distance to the rising water. We are happy and sure, that that we have the economy and the resources to prevent the climate changes from striking us. Meanwhile states of islands around the world are getting flushed away, while hurricanes, drought and hunger strike the rest of the world - especially Africa and Asia.

”The climate changes are caused by the great consumption of resources in the Western World. The climate changes can only be stopped if the Western World starts massive investments in energy free of CO2 and sustainable production. In spite of this fact we will not change our way of living and really make a difference. On the contrary, all the governments of the Western World call on their citizens to start a new consumption orgy in order to get out of the financial crisis.   

FN envisages 200 millions of climate refugees within the next 40 years. This is going to result in great demographic changes worldwide, so that many societies risk to collapse including civil wars and instability, which will cause even more refugees and thereby more societal problems. This vicious circle can only be avoided by stopping global warming and start massive organizations to help the countries that the climate crisis already strikes,” concludes Galschiot.  

SevenMeters art-events (can be seen November 13 – December 19)

Survival of the Fattest is a part of SevenMeters.net.  Art installations by Jens Galschiot which highlight the climate issue from different angles, in cooperation with different players from among peoplesclimateaction.dk and Illumenarts.dk. Especially focus is put on the consequences for the people on earth and the meaning of the demographic changes for our society. 

** The pulse of earth (by Bella Centre metro station, the entrance to COP15). The 4˝ high sculpture ’The Messenger’ counts the new climate refugees on a display, while  the water graves under the metro are filled with human sized ‘Hunger Boys’. The entire installation and the actual metro are covered in red, pulsating LED-light, which follows the geological ‘pulse’ of the earth and is more than 300 metres long.    

 **’Freedom to Pollute’ (The big hill at Amager Fćlled). A 6 metres high copy of the Statue of Liberty, which sends out smoke from the torch.

**Wandering Refugees (by Bella centre) are 3 10 metres high sculptures with copper faces, which represent African women with long dresses in screaming colours. They are standing on the savanna-looking area reminding us of the female refugees in Sudan.  

**‘Survival of the Fattest’ (in the water next to The little Mermaid). The sculpture confronts ‘The little Mermaid and the Danish self-perception with the goddess of justice of the real world.

**‘Balancing Act’ (at the Christiansborg palace square and other places) is 10 statues, each balancing on 7-15 metres high piles. They have been made in connection to the UN’s Decade for Education for sustainable Development (2005-2014) in cooperation with Eco-net.dk. 

**7 meters line in Copenhagen (only 6-18 December) is a visualization of the 7 metres rising in the sea level if all the ice on Greenland melts. On a 24 kilometers long distance in Copenhagen thousands of blinking red lights mark the potential new water level in the height of 7 meters.  

 

The sculptor Jens Galschiot (DK) is the initiator of SevenMeters.net. Galschiot is renowned for plenty of thought-provoking inter­national art manifestations focusing on global issues: Contact. www.aidoh.dk , tel. +45 66184 058 / +45 4044 7058, aidoh@aidoh.dk

 

*Press release about the mermaid and seven meters: see: www.aidoh.dk/?categoryID=280

*Contact to www.Sevenmeters.net: Tel. +45 6618 4058 / +45 6170 3083, Fax 6618 4158, e-mail: mail@SevenMeters.net,

*Photos (free) of the fat lady, Courtesy ‘www.SevenMeters.net’: www.SevenMeters.net/bigerection

*Photos (free) of the SevenMeters art-events, Courtesy ‘www.SevenMeters.net’: http://SevenMeters.net/links/6/

*Videos(free) from the erection. www.aidoh.dk/Up-again, Professional documentary, Tel. +45 40 215 415, www.osrtv.dk