April 2022 – Carbonsink supports “Diplomazija astuta”, the first Carbon Neutral art installation on show at the 59. International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, scheduled from 23 April to 27 November 2022.
Diplomazija astuta, by Arcangelo Sassolino, is a work that re-imagines The Beheading of St John the Baptist (1608), a seminal altarpiece by Caravaggio, as an immersive sculptural installation that superimposes the biblical narrative on the present.
Diplomazija Astuta is also special in its responsibility: for the first time, a work of art applies a voluntary international standard (ISO 14067:2018*) and certifies the CO2 equivalent emissions produced during its construction and installation through third-party verification, then offsets these emissions through a forest protection project.
Concerned about the urgency of the climate crisis and aware of the environmental impact of his work, artist Arcangelo Sassolino worked with his team to reduce the climate impact of Astute Diplomacy (presented at the Malta Pavilion of the Biennale) as much as possible.
After calculating Diplomazia Astuta’s residual emissions, certified with independent verification by an accredited certification body, these emissions were offset with the support of Carbonsink.
The credits that Carbonsink used to offset the 81 tonnes of residual CO2 are of the highest quality, generated by the Ntakata Mountains REDD project, which started in May 2017 in the Tanganyika district, western Tanzania, with the main objective of engaging and supporting local communities̀ in protecting their villages’ forest reserves.
The project was chosen for its proximity to the message of Astute Diplomacy. By putting the creation of development opportunities and the land management rights of local communities at the forefront, Ntakata Mountains combines the fight against climate change with efforts to tackle inequality and social injustice. It contributes to the achievement of 11 out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, the project contributes to the conservation of the local ecosystem, protecting biodiversity and wildlife habitats.
This was achieved by working with Susanna Sieff, an expert sustainability consultant for major national and international events and companies, who identified a series of actions that helped reduce climate-altering gas emissions in advance. These practices include, among others, the use during the seven months of the Venice Biennale of energy from completely renewable sources and the total recovery of steel, which will be melted down and then totally recycled in a local production circuit.
We are very proud to have contributed to this important and ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality for a work of art for the first time.
