Michael Benjamin Wang (born May 12, 1981) is an American artist based in New York. Wang's work uses systems that operate at a global scale as media for art: climate change, species distribution, resource allocation and the global economy. His works include Carbon Copies, an exhibition linking the production of artworks to the release of greenhouse gases, World Trade, a series tracing the trade in steel from the World Trade Center following the attacks of September 11, 2001; and Extinct in the Wild, a project that brings species that no longer exist in nature, but that persist under human care, into spaces of art. Wang's work has been shown in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, including the 13th Shanghai Biennale, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Arts Center at Governors Island in New York City, Manifesta 12 in Palermo, Italy, the Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York, Parque Cultural de Valparaíso, Fondazione Prada in Milan, and Foxy Production in New York. Early life and education Wang was born in Olney, Maryland. He received his BA in Social Anthropology and Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University in 2003, an MA in Performance Studies from New York University in 2004, and an M.Arch from Princeton University in 2008. Work Early work Early work includes the series Rivals (2014–), which engages the history of the readymade and its relationship to corporate capitalism, and Carbon Copies (2012–), which represents the carbon footprints of well known contemporary artworks as a set of sculptural objects. These objects, which the artist calls "Carbon Copies", are in turn sold in exchange for carbon offsets, erasing the carbon footprints of the works they represent. Extinct in the Wild (2014–) Wang's project Extinct in the Wild was first presented at the Fondazione Prada in Milan in 2017. It brings species of plants and animals that are no longer found in nature – but persist under human care – into spaces of art. The Drowned World (2018) For Manifesta 12 in Palermo, Italy, Wang presented a series of works titled The Drowned World. These drew connections between ancient organic processes and climate change. They included a pool tinted green by cyanobacteria and a living recreation of a Carboniferous period forest planted within the ruins of a coal gas plant. Extinct in New York (2019) Extinct in New York was one of two inaugural exhibitions at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's