The Brooklyn non-profit space Pioneer Works is hosting an exhibition titled "How to Get to Zero" by artists Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne, featuring climate-focused interactive installations. The centerpiece, "Cold Call" (2023), invites visitors to don headsets and call fossil fuel executives, following a script designed to keep them on the line as long as possible to disrupt their productivity. Another work, "Offset" (2023-25), parodies carbon offset markets by allowing visitors to purchase credits for dissident acts like deflating SUV tires, with proceeds going to activists. The exhibition also includes "Perfect Sleep" (2021), an anti-productivity phone app that encourages rest to reduce carbon footprints, and "Synthetic Messenger" (2021), where cell phones click on climate news ads to boost journalism engagement.
This exhibition matters because it challenges the notion that art is powerless in the face of climate change, using humor and direct action to engage audiences with complex environmental issues. By blurring the line between art and activism, Brain and Lavigne offer a model for how creative practices can intervene in real-world problems, from carbon offset accounting to corporate distraction. The show also reflects a growing trend in contemporary art that embraces playful sabotage and critical engagement with climate policy, resonating with broader debates about the ethics of activism and the role of art in societal change.