↑ We Are All Astronauts, Installation view: Centre Culture Suisse, Paris, France, 2014

Julian Charrière, born in 1987 in Morges, Switzerland, is a French-Swiss artist based in Berlin. His interdisciplinary practice bridges environmental science and cultural history, utilising performance, sculpture, photography, and film to explore the complex relationship between human civilisation and the natural world.

Charrière’s education includes studies at the Berlin University of the Arts under Professor Christiane Möbus and at the Institut für Raumexperimente, where he was mentored by Olafur Eliasson. This diverse academic background has significantly influenced his conceptual and research-based approach to art.

“The reality that we take for granted is falling apart, becoming erratic and unpredictable.”

—JULIAN CHARRIÈRE

A hallmark of Charrière’s work is his fieldwork in remote and challenging environments, such as volcanoes, ice fields, and radioactive sites. These expeditions inform his artistic investigations into the transformation of nature over geological and human historical timescales. His projects often involve collaborations with professionals from various disciplines, including scientists, engineers, and philosophers, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary exploration.

One notable work, “We Are All Astronauts” (2013), features a series of vintage globes with their geopolitical boundaries sanded away using “international sandpaper” made from mineral samples from all UN-recognised countries. This piece challenges perceptions of territoriality and emphasises the interconnectedness of the global community.

Charrière’s exhibitions have been featured in prominent institutions worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His work has been recognised for its poetic engagement with environmental themes and its ability to provoke critical reflection on humanity’s impact on the planet.

Through his innovative and thought-provoking art, Julian Charrière continues to challenge and expand the dialogue between art, science, and the environment, encouraging audiences to reconsider their relationship with the natural world.

“When you’re standing on the ice cap, you’re not standing, you’re flying.”

—JULIAN CHARRIÈRE

In The Blue Fossil Entropic Stories III, Julian Charrière performs a confrontational act, burning fossil fuels in a futile attempt to melt an iceberg, while in Pure Waste (2021), he explores the reverse: capturing carbon instead of emitting it. Filmed in North Greenland, Pure Waste shows a hand dropping five artificial diamonds, made from captured carbon dioxide and human exhalations, into a glacier shaft. Created during the pandemic, this work poignantly underscores our connection to shared air, as Charrière “returns” carbon to its origins in an act of “pure waste.”

Julian Charrière website