Framer Framed presents Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes

Framer shown D’Souza and Staal have designed a new iteration of the CICC on the subject of “Extinction Warfare,” which is framed as the Netherlands pavilion in the Gwangju Museum of Art at the 14th Gwangju Biennale. Against the backdrop of ongoing battles in Korea, Southeast Asia, and around the world, the artists contend that the very existence of the military-industrial complex should be considered a climate crime. Between April 5 and July 30, 2023, the Court will be open to the public for visits. You can attend public hearings at the CICC on April 7, 8, and 9 to hear prosecutors and witnesses from various social movements and activist organizations testify about the role of states and businesses in perpetrating climate war crimes, particularly in the context of Korea.

Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes (CICC): Extinction Wars
Based on the book What’s Wrong With Rights? by D’Souza. (2018) The first CICC iteration was co-produced and commissioned by Framer Framed and took place in Amsterdam, with public hearings in which the Dutch State and transnational firms registered in the Netherlands, such as Unilever, ING, and Airbus, were convicted for climate crimes. Prosecutors and witnesses testified about their wrongdoing. The public served as the jury, with the duty of reaching a decision based on the Intergenerational Climate Crimes Act, which serves as the CICC’s legal underpinning.

Extinction Wars, presented at the Gwangju Biennale Pavilion, examines the role of the military-industrial complex in climate crimes, saying that the very existence of the fossil fuelled military-industrial complex is an ecocidal crime against natures and peoples. Wars have severe multigenerational consequences not only for human societies, but also for the intricate ecosystems that support them. Climate disaster should be deemed a war crime in and of itself: an extinction war waged on living worlds.

Gwangju Biennale Pavilion
The Gwangju Biennale Pavilion, soft and weak like water, will take place alongside the main exhibition of the Gwangju Biennale, with the nine participating cultural organizations working on their exhibitions in collaboration with pre-allocated culture and art institution counterparts in the Gwangju area.

Initiated in 2018, the Pavilion involves exhibitions from prominent international cultural organisations to break down borders between different art environments and communicate a message unique to the city of Gwangju. With three organisations represented at the 12th Gwangju Biennale in 2018 and two at the 13th Gwangju Biennale in 2021, this year’s Pavilion will be the largest yet, with arts and culture organisations from nine different countries. The Netherlands Pavilion, co-produced by Framer Framed, will be held at the Gwangju Museum of Art.

Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes (CICC): Extinction Wars is co-commissioned and co-produced by Framer Framed in collaboration with the Gwangju Biennale Pavilion

Curator and Researcher: Juhyun Cho