UNITED NATIONS (TURKISH JOURNAL) – Juliet İnan – The United Nations will host a series of meetings starting Monday to discuss changing climate conditions. Artists, young people, and activists are making many activities, panels, and meetings to make their voices heard and to attract the attention of society for climate change.
Do we have clean air in our city? This question took attention of the British artist Michael Pinsky. He installed and exhibited “Pollution Pods” in the United Nations Rose garden that make us experience a different level of air quality. There are five domes in his artwork that represents five cities: Tautra in Norway, London, New Delhi, Beijing, and Sao Paulo. The air quality of each city is recreated within the domes.
Visitors start the journey with the clean, cold, and dry air of Tautra. When they enter the Beijing dome, they face excessive dirty, hot, and humid air which is disturbing.
Air pollution has significant impacts on human health such as: reducing male fertility, harming the fetus, causing dementia in early age and being a reason for million premature deaths every year, and dying younger. 9 in 10 people breathe polluted air caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
Michael Pinsky, with his artwork, gives us an unforgettable experience of the toxic reality. Every dome reminds visitors of their motto of “Clean air is a human right.”
