“THE COOLING SOLUTION”
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
On May 19, The cooling Solution was inaugurated in the university courtyard and at CFZ (Ca’ Foscari and CFZ, May 19 – July 31, 2023), an art and science project that chose the fine art photography of Gaia Squarci to tell how people from different sociocultural backgrounds, in various parts of the world, adapt themselves to increasing temperatures and high humidity. Starting from the title, the term “solution” wants to question the paradigm of adaptation to climate change centered on the indiscriminate use of air conditioners.
The intent of The Cooling Solution is to make accessible to the general public, through the communicative power of photography, a series of scientific results that have been produced in 5 years by the ENERGYA research project. The project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), was coordinated by Enrica De Cian, professor of environmental economics at Ca' Foscari and researcher at the CMCC Foundation.
The thecoolingsolution.com website and the exhibition integrate the results of the scientific project with a photojournalistic reportage between Brazil, India, Indonesia and Italy, thus offering a visual journey through the daily experiences of people grappling with thermal discomfort, examples of inefficient and ineffective cooling, hyper-cooling, vernacular architecture and cutting-edge technologies.
Studio Rufus is grateful for the collaboration with the Kublaiklan curatorial collective in the making of this interesting exhibition.
The Cooling Solution
- photography by Gaia Squarci
- ENERGYA research, coordinated by Prof. Enrica De Cian, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and CMCC Foundation
- curatorship of Kublaiklan
- art-science coordination and Elementsix website
