The project ‘The weight of carbon’ visualizes environmental fragility through the entanglement of the global and the personal. It explores the dual nature of carbon as both a life-giving and disruptive force in the context of global environmental challenges. Through kinetic installation, drawing, print and sonic elements, it serves as a metaphor for ecological changes due to global warming in the Arctic and the impacts of forest fires on local ecosystems and communities, while questioning the colonial legacies embedded in our exploitation of natural resources.
It interrogates how carbon manifests in ecological transformation, human impact, and neocolonial structures that continue to shape the Global South. It poses a critical question: How can art serve as a conduit for amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in global environmental discourse?
The project encourages viewers to contemplate the traces we leave on the world, linking the ancient use of charcoal in human creativity to the modern impact of carbon emissions. The marks left on paper by the charred tree branches evolve into a visual archive, capturing the burning essence of the trees. These drawings highlight the tension between human intervention and the natural presence of carbon.
Rajat Mondal is an intermedia artist from India, based in Oslo, Norway. His practice explores carbon both as a material and a subject through drawing,video,print sound, and kinetic installations. He experiments with carbon allotropes like charcoal and graphite, using technological processes and mechanics with recycled electronics. He creates transformative and transient experiences as we encounter the sounds and sensations of nature that are fading by anthropogenic changes. He is engaged with science and art collaborations blending scientific knowledge with artistic inquiry to explore new ideas and perspectives. He has received his Master’s degree in Medium and Material-Based Art from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (2024), a Diplôme National d’Art (DNA) from École Supérieure d’Arts & Médias, Caen (2022), an MFA from the University of Hyderabad (2019), and a BFA from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata (2017). He has received several grants and awards, including support from Norske Grafikeres Fond and Fond for lyd og bilde. His solo exhibitions include Plumbago and Tremor at Galleri Seilduken, Oslo (2023). He has also participated in prominent group exhibitions such as Høstutstillingen Oslo (2024) , EKA gallery, Tallinn, Estonia (2024) and the ]interstice[ festival (France, 2024). He was also a resident at BEK’s spring residency, Bergen and at Kunstnarhuset Messe, Norway, both in 2025.