With a title such as Solarstalgia, which bridges ‘solar’ and ‘nostalgia,’ we wonder: what exactly does it mean? According to the Arken museum, the Danish institution hosting this massive solo show by Julian Charrière, the term refers “to the distress and longing felt when witnessing environmental degradation caused by climate change in one’s surroundings.” And now, it makes sense because the French-Swiss artist’s new exhibit explores ideas of nature and its transformation over deep geological as well as human historical time.
Even if most of us are aware of the alarming state that the world is in due to human action, it’s not enough. The youth, mostly, is worried about an uncertain future where the polar caps have melted, the level of the seas arisen so much that entire nations and islands are destroyed and remain underwater, the increasing desertification makes it harder to live in huge areas, and the limited natural resources go more and more scarce. Yep, it looks fucked up. But art is a way to help us gain consciousness and start taking action.
Through photography, installation, and research, Julian Charrière addresses pressing matters of ecological concern. In Solarstalgia, on view through April 20, 2025, he takes visitors on a journey through our planet’s past and present — from a darkened forest environment with plant species that dominated the Earth three hundred million years ago during the Carboniferous Period, to more contemporary scenes like abandoned coal mines and oil drilling sites. By putting together such different historical and geological periods, Charrière traces a schematic history of our planet and shows us how every action has its consequences that can affect the living beings in the centuries to come.
With Solarstalgia, the Arken museum presents the second part of a trilogy of exhibitions focusing on the relationship between humanity, nature, and technology.
