The Clipperton Project is a multi-disciplinary, international arts and science project which aims to take a group of 20 outstanding practitioners, from 8 different countries, on an expedition to the deserted island of Clipperton in March 2012.
Clipperton is an inhospitable paradise; 1280km from coast of Mexico, lying directly in the path of dangerous weather systems, inhabited by poisonous crabs and guarded by sharks. However, Clipperton is also a relatively unexplored “oceanic laboratory” (Jim Holm, The Clean Oceans Project) that may hold the answers to a variety of scientific questions, such as the effects of climate change on coral reefs and the quest to find genes that enable poisonous water sources to be ‘cleansed’.
“The little-known island of Clipperton has a strange story to tell, one that reveals as much about its unique geographic and ecological past as it does its human history.”
The Huffington Post/MutualArt.com
Upon their return, the participants will produce work based on the ecological, geological and human history of the atoll, in order to paint a cross-cultural portrayal of this unique island in the middle of the Pacific, displaying its work at some of the most important forums across the globe between 2011 and 2014.
In particular, The Clipperton Project uses the expedition to Clipperton and the research gathered to break down barriers between the arts and science in order that they might reach new audiences, and in doing so establish the importance of both these fields in contemporary life. The art-science collaboration aims to establish a new kind of discourse and presentation of climate change, using the island of Clipperton as a prism through which to view this broad, literally ground-shifting topic. Global surveys have shown that the public both requests and requires improved knowledge about the global impact of climate change, and perceives science to be the most reliable source for this information. The Clipperton project intends to present essential scientific information to the public in over 20 different countries between 2012 and 2015, through artistic processes.
During the expedition to Clipperton, the team will sending information back to land on a daily basis, using the latest satellite technology. These updates will be accessible to the public via the website and also via the project’s Web Application Project updates and activities are also posted across our social networking pages, links to which are available from the website. www.clippertonproject.com
The Clipperton Project is a not-for-profit international initiative that aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact of human activities on some of the world’s most remote and uninhabited places. www.clippertonproject.com