GUSTAV METZGER | Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Climate Impact Reports
Installation view, ‘Gustav Metzger’, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2021
Courtesy The Estate of Gustav Metzger and Hauser & Wirth
Photo: Ken Adlard
© The Estate of Gustav Metzger and The Gustav Metzger Foundation
GUSTAV METZGERHauser & Wirth Somerset 26 JUNE - 12 September, 2021Introduction
Gustav Metzger at Hauser & Wirth Somerset (26 June – 12 September 2021) was the first Hauser & Wirth exhibition to have a carbon emissions calculation. The gallery team worked to produce an environmentally-responsible exhibition and achieve a low carbon footprint by actively discussing the environmental impact of the exhibition and the sustainability interests at the heart of Metzger’s practice. Through this discourse, a decision was made to not re-fabricate a historic work because of the high carbon impact of the process. Decisions about the lifecycle and longevity of the materials in the exhibition were also considered during the exhibition planning phases, namely: using glass rather than Perspex for longevity; repairing materials rather than purchasing new; printing exhibition text on recycled paper rather than printing cut vinyl; shipping works already in the UK, therefore not using air freight; conducting all travel associated with planning by train; recycling and repurposing exhibition furniture, carpet and curtains through a local circular network to ensure materials did not end up in landfill and sourcing 100% renewable energy for the exhibition.
The exhibition was organised in partnership with the Gustav Metzger Foundation, a charity founded upon Metzger’s death in 2017. During his lifetime, Metzger defined the organization’s mission by envisioning not only exhibitions of his work and furtherance of the political and philosophical ideas he espoused, but also through support for individuals working in the fields of the arts and environmental studies, and for initiatives ‘to combat the risk of global extinction arising from the activities of humans.’
This exhibition’s Climate Impact Report (CIR) is published on the artist-led sustainability platform Artists Commit. Launched in November 2021, the CIR concept was created by Artists Commit. Written in November 2021, this is the first CIR published by Hauser & Wirth.
Hauser & Wirth’s Climate Policy
In line with the Paris Climate Agreement of the United Nations, and in alignment with the Gallery Climate Coalition commitment, Hauser & Wirth is reducing carbon emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030. The next years are crucial in averting the worst effects of human-induced climate change and we are building sustainable practices into the DNA of our practices. To make a substantial impact and increase our understanding, we are embracing change.
Appointed in April 2021, our global Head of Environmental Sustainability, Cliodhna Murphy, oversees the implementation of the gallery’s measures to achieve our reduction targets. Cliodhna’s role is to drive the urgent actions to decarbonize and minimise waste in our daily operations. In a dedicated position, she is our internal and external spokesperson on this subject. She is a member of the GCC industry working group and a co-lead of the GCC shipping, packaging and recycling sub-committees. For broad sustainability measures, we are switching to renewable energy in all locations; transitioning to LED lighting; decarbonising our energy in locations where we can control sources and lobbying our landlords to introduce more green energy into the buildings in which we operate. For any new location we open, we are using our targets to ensure that these developments are net zero.
Calculating our emissions has been one of our first actions. Since 2019, we have measured our Scope 1 and 2 (energy and fuel) emissions and have recently embarked on measuring our Scope 3 (flights, freight and exhibition construction) emissions. To track and reduce emissions we have introduced carbon budgets, identifying where we can make changes to increase our decarbonisation efforts. Our reduction process is underway through a comprehensive strategy across our galleries using this metric-centric approach. Concurrently, we have enrolled in the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which will help us measure, track and monitor our reductions. We believe in transparency and share our carbon emissions as part of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) carbon reporting tool. We support the development of a meaningful and industry-specific response to the climate emergency and we have been patrons and members of the GCC since 2020.
Our priority is to reduce emissions. For the carbon emissions that we cannot reduce, we are supporting carbon drawdown and protection projects through a range of carbon sequestering and Strategic Climate Funds (SCF) donations. In 2019, we double offset emissions by supporting certified forestry and biodiversity projects in cities and regions where the gallery is active through The Swiss Forest Protection and The Garcia River project in California. In 2020, we supported a dedicated forestry and biodiversity project in Alaska, USA. In 2020 and 2021, through our partnership with Art to Acres, an artist-founded non-profit that supports permanent old-growth forest conservation in high biodiversity regions, we have contributed Strategic Climate Funds to support the permanent conservation of 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of cloud forest, a project stewarded by local leadership. The contribution was matched by the Sheth Sangreal Foundation to support a positive impact on climate, biodiversity, and irreplaceable ecosystems.
Exhibition Overview
Gustav Metzger remains a moral compass, a constant reminder that integrity comes at a price, and that fighting for your convictions can indeed change the world. Metzger has done more than raise awareness. His art and philosophy are a stark testimony to the alternative world for which he strove.’ – Mathieu Copeland
Gustav Metzger (1926-2017) radically challenged our understanding of art, its relation to reality and our existence within society. His uncompromising commitment to combat environmental destruction was fundamental to his questioning of the role of the artist and the act of artmaking as a vehicle for change. Hauser & Wirth’s inaugural exhibition of Metzger’s work in Somerset provides a focused look at works that explore the intersection between human intervention, nature and man-made environments, ideas the artist continued to interrogate over a six-decade career.
At the heart of Metzger’s practice was a passionate engagement with the notion of creation as a continual counterpoint to themes of destruction. A central feature of the exhibition in the Rhoades Gallery is ‘Liquid Crystal Environment’ (1965/2021), one of the best-known examples of Metzger’s lean towards Auto-Creative Art from the 1960s onwards. The immersive environment utilises heat-sensitive liquid crystals between glass slides, creating colours and patterns that are projected into the space. The evolving artwork is in a state of constant flux, bringing together Metzger’s interest in both kinetic art and the relationship between science, art and nature.
Carbon Emissions:
The exhibition’s carbon emissions were assessed according to Scope 1, 2 and 3 by the Carbon Accounting Company (CAC). The exhibition coincided with a show by Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida, also at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, and emissions calculations were apportioned accordingly to each exhibition by CAC. The methodology for the exhibition emissions quantification follows the principles and methods of The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard). The lifecycle emissions quantification of construction materials follows the principles of the ISO 14040:2006 Standard (https://www.iso.org/standard/37456.html).
All data was collected and provided by Hauser & Wirth colleagues either directly in the data collection workbook provided by CAC, or in separately consolidated communications. While it is assumed that the data entered by Hauser & Wirth was accurate and complete, minor leakages in the Scope 3 carbon category are anticipated.
Further narrative about the carbon emissions of the exhibition:
SCOPE 1
Natural Gas: 231 tCO2e
40% of the site energy was generated through natural gas
SCOPE 2
On Site Energy: 12 tCO2e (location based) 0 tCO2e (market based)
The exhibition was open 68 days, resulting in approximately 12 tCO2e, 0.285 tCO2e of which are directly due to the artwork.
SCOPE 3
Freight: .014 tCO2e
The Gustav Metzger Foundation and the gallery team, planned for a show that did not include any air freight for sustainability reasons. All works displayed in the exhibition were already in the UK for some time and as a result only road transport was used. Road freight weighed 1,694 kg and a distance of 1,244km was travelled. Calculating the carbon footprint of road transport has accuracy limitations because it is not accounted for by vehicle type. The calculation includes both inbound and outbound shipments.
Employee, contractor and Metzger Foundation Travel: 0.35 tCO2e
Keeping flights to a minimum was a key sustainability measure for the exhibition. No flights were taken during the planning or opening of this exhibition. There were 606 miles in trains and 17,667 miles driven by car for staff and contractors.
Events and visitor travel: 157 tCO2e
Visitor travel was calculated by a post-visit survey, where there was a 60% response rate and many of the visitors also visited the concurrent Eduardo Chillida exhibition. There were 2 events that took place as part of the exhibition: they attracted 45 visitors specifically who travelled by train and car. For travel engaged by visitors to see the show, this was composed of 910,178 km by car, 24,323 km by rail and 0 km by air.
Exhibition construction: 1.66 tCO2e
In planning the exhibition, Technician Sam Taylor carefully considered the lifecycle of the exhibition materials so that the gallery could reuse, repurpose, recycle and only as last resort send items to landfill. Due to the nature of the liquid crystal projection work, it was not possible to use energy efficient LED projections and traditional carousel projectors were used. All energy consumed was 100% renewable.
Waste Report
Materials used in the exhibition included: carpet (190m2), 26 sheets of 8x4ft sheets MDF (15mm), 2 sheets of 12 x 4ft MDF (18mm), 24 lengths of 2x4 timber, 64 liters of paint, 5 sheets of 8m toughened glass, 1 sheet of 18mm plywood, 21 bags of 25kg sand for ballasts, 36 metres of tulip wood, 4.2m of 50mm steel, lined curtains, blackout blinds, halogen slide projector bulbs.
Using a material afterlife checklist, we categorized the destination of material used in the exhibition.
Waste disposal generated 0.012 tCO2e
Reuse:
to be reused for the same purpose as the original use
Carpet: Carpet was donated for reuse, we estimate 75% of this will be reused for the purpose it was intended.
Repurpose:
To be kept, sold, or donated and used for a different purpose in the future
2 x 4 timber
Toughened glass
MDF 18mm
Plywood
Sand
Tulipwood (550 litres)
Storage:
items sent to storage, but without a clear plan for immediate reuse or repurpose
Steel
Curtains
Blackout blinds
Refuse:
item was not used at all and therefore potential waste was avoided
Concrete for sculpture
item was not used at all and therefore potential waste was avoided
Landfill
items sent to a landfill
Halogen slide projector bulbs
Paint
26 sheets of MDF
25% of carpet (550 litres)
Supporting People
Have a transparent conversation within the project team to understand which, if any, of these priorities the project adopted to support the people working on it:
Encourage climate-minded thinking within the project team. ✓
Consider inclusion and needs of local communities in the project. ✓
Collective Action
Have a transparent conversation within the project team about ways that the project can support collective action within the art sector:
Share a climate case study at artistscommit.com. ✓
Use this case study as a framework or model available to other artist projects hosted by the presenting partner. ✓
Share what was learned in the case study to audiences. ✓
Ask project partners and collaborators about their climate policies, commitments, or priorities. ✓
Use this report to develop future reports at Hauser & Wirth ✓
Additional Notes/Closing Thoughts
This is the gallery’s first Climate Impact Report conducted with the support of Artists Commit. Alongside the carbon budgets that Hauser & Wirth will generate for future exhibitions at Somerset and other locations, colleagues can use the CIR document as a base to reflect on the full sustainability spectrum of a specific exhibition. As the central document archiving an exhibition’s sustainability metrics, the CIR is a space to reflect on exhibition planning, delivery, recycling, upcycling, waste reduction and waste afterlife considerations. This opportunity will support behavioral shifts in waste minimization, carbon emissions reduction and staff education and further the gallery’s sustainable actions, culture and processes.
Exhibition Info and Credits
Carbon Emissions Metrics Prepared by: Sam Taylor (Technician), Poppy Fairfax (Registrar), Tobias Fisher (Registrar), Fili Harrington (Assistant to the Directors), Stewart Gosbee (Facilities Manager), Debbie Hillyerd (Director of Education); Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Waste Metrics Prepared by: Sam Taylor (Technician) and Ross Dixon (Gallery Manager); Hauser & Wirth Somerset
CIR Prepared by: Ian Lipton, Carbon Accounting Company
CIR Audited by: Cliodhna Murphy, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability, Hauser & Wirth
CIR Reviewed by: Aileen Corkery (Director), Corinne Bannister (Senior Artist Liaison), Hauser & Wirth; Leanne Dmyterko and Ula Dajerling (Co-Directors and Curators), Gustav Metzger Foundation; Haley Mellin, Art to Acres
Exhibition link: https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/32067-gustav-metzger/