STINE-MARIE JACOBSEN
The current global structure presents limited opportunities for future generations. Philosopher John Rawls proposed in his book Theory of Justice, that progress towards a more just and equitable world requires entrusting leadership to individuals who approach decision-making with a “veil of ignorance,” unaware of their own identity markers such as gender, skin tone, class, or health conditions. Only in this state of impartiality can they strive to create a world with improved justice.
Since 2016, artist Stine Marie Jacobsen has been developing an art project called Law Shifters, focusing on global law by involving people in reevaluating court cases and drafting their own laws. In the Law Shifters project, which has operated in several countries including Lebanon, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Ukraine, and the UK, Jacobsen recently embarked on an abstracted court case for the first time.
The objective is to inspire unconventional discussions that transcend fatalistic and conventional reasoning, sparking radical imagination. To achieve this goal, Jacobsen conducted a workshop at Telemark Kunstsenter with four participants from the area, aiming to stimulate non-normative and speculative discussions and role-playing scenarios related to climate laws and displacement. Jacobsen encouraged participants to think beyond typical human perspectives by challenging them to describe a purposeless judicial system and to reason as either an animal, a technological device, or the soil.
Amidst escalating challenges of climate migration and mobility resulting from climate change-induced disasters like rising sea levels, coastal flooding, and severe drought, concerns about mass climate migration are growing globally. Paradoxically, the term “climate migrant” lacks legal recognition, with governments failing to offer legal protections for affected individuals. Climate-related disasters cause more internal displacement than conflicts, yet the concept of climate migration remains predominantly within the realm of policy-oriented research. Is it possible to safeguard future generations by creating bold, forward-thinking climate legislation?
In one unique campaign to save the Mar Menor ecosystem, Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon, resulted in the passage of a new law in 2022, granting the lagoon legal rights after becoming polluted due to mining and other environmental challenges as a result of urban infrastructure. Jacobsen’s approach is experimental, and the outcome is an animated film with five characters (the fox, the soil, the mobile phone, the drill and the slime ball narrator) which discuss what ought to be allowed to do or not.
Some of her notable solo shows have been at Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018, Flat Time House, London, England, 2018, Galerie Wedding, 2016, Berlin, Germany, Overgaden institute of contemporary art, 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark, Galway Arts Center, 2014, Galway, Ireland, District Berlin, 2014 and Künstlerhaus Bethanien, 2012, Berlin, Germany. Selected group shows consist of Manifesta Biennial 2020, Marseille, France, Momentum Biennale 2019, Moss, Norway, Riga Biennial, Latvia 2018, La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, 2017, France, Momentum Biennale 2013, Moss, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany and Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark, Turku Biennale, 2013, Turku, Finland, The 10th OPEN International Performance Festival, 2009, Beijing, China.
More info > stinemariejacobsen.com
