Broken Greenhouse
Bigert & Bergström’s project Broken Greenhouse / Embodied Climate Futures explores humanity’s complex relationship with climate change. Through five sculptural greenhouses inspired by the UN’s climate scenarios for the year 2100, visitors are invited on a journey through possible climate futures.
Bigert & Bergström, 'The Pipedream SSP1'. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Béranger
About the exhibition
The exhibition’s title alludes to what Bigert & Bergström has identified as a contemporary feeling of brokenness. Despite increasing awareness of the impact of climate change on the planet, it can be difficult to visualise the future in concrete terms. Broken Greenhouse / Embodied Climate Futures is the artist duo’s attempt to contribute to understanding through experiences and dialogue. The exhibition takes place outdoors, outside Accelerator and in the Bergius Botanic Garden, both of which are part of Stockholm University. Outside Accelerator, the artists have created a gathering place with a group of canopy swings that serve as a starting point for the exhibition and for the walk between the greenhouses.
SSP, short for Shared Socio-economic Pathways, sets out five possible scenarios for the future (SSP1 to SSP5), in which climate trends are based on assumptions about changes in socio-economic factors. Bigert & Bergström’s greenhouses have been developed in collaboration with climate researchers at Umeå University and each one embodies one of these specific future scenarios—ranging from a more sustainable and circular development path to more resource-intensive and high-emitting societal models.
As part of the exhibition, a research festival will take place at the university on 25–26 September, featuring guided walking tours led by researchers and artists in dialogue about the future of climate challenges. The festival serves as an interdisciplinary meeting place where art and science come together to bring the UN’s climate scenarios to life and make them more accessible to a wider public. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between Accelerator, the Bergius Botanic Garden, the Bolin Centre at Stockholm University, the Anthropocene Lab at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Bigert & Bergström.
About Bigert & Bergström
The artist duo Bigert & Bergström, comprising Mats Bigert and Lars Bergström, have worked together since the late 1980s. Their practice lies at the intersection of art, science, politics and environmental issues, often expressed through large-scale, site-specific installations. Using a combination of humour, technology and social commentary, they shed light on the most pressing issues of our time—including the consequences of climate change and human impact on nature.
Credits
The exhibition has been made possible by generous grants to Bigert & Bergström from the Formas Research Council, the Postcode Foundation, the Längmanska Cultural Foundation, the Arctic Centre and the Climate Impacts Research Centre at Umeå University.
Broken Greenhouse / Embodied Climate Futures has been exhibited at Lund Botanical Garden (23 May – 20 September 2025) and Wasteland Skellefteå (28 May – 19 July 2026).