“Intergovernmental Panel on Capitalism” by Tega Brain, Sam Lavigne

Title:

Intergovernmental Panel on Capitalism

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Creation Year:

2015

Medium:

Multi-channel video, printed reports

Duration:

1:34:00

Artist Statement:

Intergovernmental Panel on Capitalism (IPC) is the leading international body for the assessment of capitalism. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in capitalism and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Capitalism (IPC) is an ambitious attempt to edit all online materials published by the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by programmatically replacing every instance of the phrase “climate change” with the word “capitalism”. Founded by the United Nations in 1988, the IPCC is the “leading international body for the assessment of climate change” and is tasked with assessing and synthesizing research around climate change. This edit is made to all of the IPCC reports, web and video content and the resultant materials shed light on the tension between environmental issues and contemporary economics, calling capitalism itself into question.