Zero Carbon Records

What Remains at Zero Carbon?

Why we launched this absurd, quixotic project, Zero Carbon Records

Lecture/discussion by Manu Louis

What Remains at Zero Carbon? is a lecture addressing the questions that have preoccupied the two creators of Zero Carbon Records (musicians Manu Louis and Sylvain Chauveau) since the project was launched. In particular, it challenges the idea that one must be personally beyond reproach in order to speak about the issue. Artists such as Sylvain and Manu live in a world full of contradictions, in which political engagement is very often part of the work, even though the artistic practice itself and the ways in which it is disseminated contradict the message (air travel, intensive use of energy-consuming technologies, total dependence on fossil fuels).

Must we achieve perfect consistency, a state of purity, before tackling the problem?

Zero Carbon Records believes that this risks leading to inaction and chooses to act despite its contradictions.

Zero Carbon Records puts these questions on the table through games and creative constraints. In the ZCR protocol, whenever zero carbon is not achieved, carbon fiascos are generated, and the audience is invited to discuss the choices that were made and the reasons that led to "burning carbon." This approach allows them to consider the world we live in not as something we are entitled to, but as a precious luxury.

During the discussion that follows the lecture, we hope to revisit together the key questions explored by Zero Carbon Records: What role can a citizen play? What role could an artist take on? Should change come from politics or emerge from individual initiatives—or both? Can artists reduce their carbon footprint, and what can they do if this is not possible?

In a polarised world, these questions can sometimes be sensitive and create tensions with our peers. How can we put these issues on the table without coming across as moralising?

Ideally, the lecture should be introduced by a scientist who would present an overview of the carbon footprint of the cultural sector.