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Polestar teams up with artist Thijs Bierstaker to bring climate crisis and the renewable energy transition to life

Electric performance car brand Polestar, and awareness artist Thijs Biersteker, have launched a new interactive installation. We Harvest Wind encourages people to think about the biggest challenges of our time – the climate crisis, pollution and the transition to renewable energy – through art.

We Harvest Wind, which is being exhibited at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam from 14th October to 3rd November, has been designed by Biersteker, an awareness artist famed for his award-winning interactive installations about climate change, ocean plastic, pollution and nature. The art installation will enable visitors to control the wind using large fans. As the wind hits the sculpture, it generates energy which causes the installation to come to life. The aim of the installation is to educate consumers on the importance of renewable energy.

Polestar is on a mission to encourage transparency in the electric vehicle sector and beyond, believing this to be the only way to achieve a sustainable and emission-free future. The installation takes a complex topic and makes it more approachable by interpreting it through art.

The installation was inspired by the recent publication of Polestar’s LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) report. The report measures the lifetime CO2e impact of Polestar 2, taking into account everything from the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing and how the car is disposed of at the end of its life. The report shows that the lifetime impact of the all-electric car can be halved if the car is charged with renewable energy. However, renewable energy charging points are not yet widely available and most consumers are not aware of the issue.

Harvesting the power of the wind is not just an energy revolution, but an obvious step in human evolution. We are the only species that uses wind to generate energy, and this is now more important than ever,” says Thijs Biersteker, founder of Woven Studio. “At the installation, visitors are able to experience the power of wind by setting it in motion themselves, actively participating in the energy transition. The kind of electricity we choose for our homes, electric vehicles and electric bicycles really makes a difference. It’s one of the few sustainable transitions that we can enforce as individuals.”

Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, says: “Biersteker’s installation is part of a larger awareness campaign that we are running around green energy. He is a really interesting artist and it’s been great to witness how he turned our Life Cycle Assessment into a piece of art, and to now see it exhibited in the progressive and beautiful Stedelijk Museum. Charging green is such an important factor in unleashing the full potential of electric cars, on our journey to making them climate neutral.”

Stedelijk Museum is a catalyst for conversations about a sustainable and inclusive future. It provides a stage for artists who reflect society and experiment artistically with innovation and new solutions. Polestar and Stedelijk Museum have entered into a partnership for three years.

Enrica Flores d’Arcais, Manager of Development at Stedelijk Museum, says: “Like Polestar, Stedelijk Museum is researching how design can offer sustainable solutions for the future. We’re therefore very proud to join forces with Polestar in a multi-year partnership to help make our society more sustainable. Thijs Biersteker’s installation commissioned by Polestar is the first result of our collaboration.” 

Stedelijk Museum has made its auditorium available for the installation. For three weeks, visitors can actively participate in the installation, made from some of the innovative sustainable materials that Polestar aims to use in its future vehicles. After 3rd November, the installation will move to another location, to be announced in due course, to start new conversations about renewable energy and the power of change.

About We Harvest Wind
• The free installation opens on 14 October at Stedelijk Museum, Central Amsterdam. and will run until 3 November
• The installation was printed from 60 kg of used plastic PET (the same material as in plastic bottles)
• The outer wings of the installation have been made in collaboration with Polestar’s sustainable materials team and consist of flax fibres with a layer of biodegradable corn biopolymer (PLA). First seen in the Polestar Precept concept car, this material is on the shortlist of new materials for application in future cars. 
• The installation comes with a materials passport in which a record is kept of how it was built, and more importantly, how future generations can take it apart and recycle it. This is done in the hope that at some point such awareness pieces will have become irrelevant, and the materials can then be reused for something else.

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