FOR GRANVILLE MAG
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark has been a flurry of activity, in the Bella Center with the negiotions, in the Fresh Air Center with the media and NGOs and in the streets with the marchs and protests. Each country brings to the table its own sets of concerns, contributitions and baggage revolving around carbon emissions and climate control. Canada has been no exception this rule, yet has been thrown into the not so positive spotlight by the culture jamming activist duo called the Yes Men .
The Yes Men punked Canada by merely pointing out their basic regulations on climate control and where Canada stands in the proceeding at COP15 . The Yes Men's media stunt included a fake press release from Canada, a fake response from Uganda, a fake retraction from Canada and multiple fake news stories surrounding all of the fake media. They even created a fake website, Good COP15 for their entire coverage. Static Photography 's Kris Krüg has been at COP15 photographing all of the events, including the Yes Men.
The Yes Men are well-known for their SurvivaBall, which is a tongue-in-cheek inflatable suit designed for catastrophic sitautions in which basic survival is engaged. The SurvivaBall was seen in multiple marchs at Copenhagen.
The Fresh Air Centre is large enough that chance meetings occur at the most random times. One half of the Yes Men met up with Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver, unbeknownst to Gregor, just hours before Canada is punked.
The gypsy-inspired band from Brooklyn Gogol Bordello performed a special show in Copenhagen for COP15. The Yes Men opened up the show, also fellow New Yorkers.
NDP Canadian Member of Parliament Olivia Chow and NDP Party Leader Jack Layton were in Copenhagen at COP15 with support for Canada. After speaking at the Fresh Air Centre, Olivia and Jack put forth good nature and were photographed with the Yes Men.
Sometimes bad press is bad press and sometimes bad press is good press, but either way, the press took notice when the Yes Men punked Canada at COP15. In a good way, Canada took notice as well. Stay tuned for more photos from Copenhagen or check out Kris Krüg's Flickr Photostream for daily updates!