We Want Independent Monitoring
toxic chemicals & contamination; air pollution
Against the backdrop of a dingy brick wall, a colorful mural depicts a young girl with her eyes closed seemingly inhaling the scent of a flower while a bubble around her head protects her from ominous black air pollution. The adjacent panel reads, "WE WANT INDEPENDENT MONITORING." The work references a grassroots campaign by residents living in the vicinity of four former gasworks sites in London, England that have been redeveloped into affordable housing. Residents are concerned that residual toxic contamination in the soil is a health hazard. They are demanding clean-up of the brownfield sites, with independent air quality monitoring during the process to ensure that toxic substances are not released during the process.
unknown
Photo posted by Claire Weiss on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CO7sHeCN5L8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a>.
Posted on Instagram 2021-05-16
BAS
Claire Weiss
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0028
London, England
Reflecting On Our Waste
waste; air pollution
A mural pictures a young person wearing a paper bag crown perched in a slumped posture atop a crate amidst boxes and trash. The person is wearing an oxygen mask connected to a bell jar containing a green plant while mournfully contemplating factories and their emissions. This work was created as part of the Baladk Street Art Festival in Amman Jordan. As the artist explains in the Instagram post from which this image was sourced, "The theme of this year is all about the environment and waste management, so the concept of this mural is about reflecting on our position as humans in all of this, being on top of all the advancements we created yet ignoring how fragile and in denial we are when it comes to our responsibility and importance of the environment."
Yazan Mesmar
From artist's Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGS47kkDwDV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@yazan.mesmar</a>)
2020-10-13
BAS
Yazan Mesmar (Yazanmesmar@gmail.com)
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0027
Amman, Jordan
Bottled Water
water scarcity & pollution
In this colorful and complex mural, an adult whale and baby whale are trapped in a gigantic water bottle. Curious onlookers take photos with their phones while uniformed officials appear to control the crowd. Meanwhile, a scientist in a white lab coat speaks to one of several industrial workers clad in construction helmets near a large pipeline coming from the bottle's spout. The public and industry workers are separated by a giant set of plastic can rings stretched across a small stream. Other than the stream, all water in this arid landscape is contained in the enormous bottle. The artist explained in his Instagram post that the work addresses "the rate of excessive consumption of natural resources and pollution with waste, specifically water as one of the most precious goods. A possible future scenario if we do not begin to correctly manage our passage through the planet. We must be able to guarantee the supply of water to future generations."
Delio
From artist's Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMrpDcajBq4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@deliorc</a>).
2021-03-21
Lao Lee/BAS
Created and photographed by the artist (deliorc@gmail.com).
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0020
A Coruña, Spain
No Nature No Future
warning about the future
A young woman in a polka-dot dress gazes down at a small planet earth in her hands. Alongside a leafy banner reads, "No Nature No Future."
Polar Bear Stencils
From the artist's Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhmoO_lthy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@polarbearstencils</a>).
2020-09-24
Angie Weber, BAS
Created and photographed by Polar Bear Stencils (<a href="https://www.polarbearstencils.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.polarbearstencils.com/</a>)
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0010
Paris, France
If Climate Were A Work of Art
Climate Change
According to the artist, this diptych spraypainted on utility boxes conveys "a strong message that we want a government that puts climate change on top of the agenda ✊. It is still treated as climate change will solve itself. But like the hourglass on the wrist of our painted figure: time is running out ⌛️!!" (cited from artist's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNzIUHfFZok/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram post</a>).
Nanna de Jong
Sourced from the artist's April 18, 2021 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNzIUHfFZok/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> post.
Documented on 2021-04-18
Olivia Wong, BAS
Artwork created and documented on Instagram by Nanna de Jong (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/nanskipunanski/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@nanskipunanski</a>).
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0008
Schildersbuurt, Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Earth Day 2021
Nature in the urban landscape
<p>Spanish artist Isaac Cordel's <em>Cement Eclipses</em> installations have appeared in urban settings around the world since the mid-2000s. As explained by art historian Peter Bengsten (2018), Cordel strategically places "small sculptures of human beings – often balding, briefcase-carrying, white men in suits – that are either painted in drab colours or are left in the grey tones of the raw material they are made from" so that passersby will happen upon them. As in this example, these miniature figures are sometimes juxtaposed alongside natural elements in the otherwise built setting, typically in poignant ways that highlight the contrast and conflict between industrialized living and non-human nature. Bengstrom (2018) explains, “Given the attire of the sculptures, which brings to mind that of archetypical bureaucrats, businessmen or politicians, Cordal’s installations can be interpreted as critical comments on the unsustainable, growth-based capitalist society which currently dominates the world economy. The artist’s work can be seen as a call for people to re-assess their anthropocentric values…” (p. 128).</p>
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Isaac Cordal
Sourced from the artist's April 22, 2021 (Earth Day) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN9zoukhnLI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> post.
Posted on Instagram 2021-04-22
BAS
Created and posted on Instagram by Isaac Cordal (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN9zoukhnLI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@isaaccordal</a>).
Learn more about the artist, his work, and press coverage of the Cement Eclipses series at <a href="http://cementeclipses.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cementeclipses.com</a>.<br /><br />See also: <span>Bengtsen, Peter.</span><span> "</span><a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/publications/street-art-and-the-nature-of-the-city(10e4b4db-987a-4b42-afe0-b460393346e3).html" class="link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Street Art and the Nature of the City."</a><span> </span><em>Bild och Natur. Tio Konstvetenskapliga Betraktelser.</em><span> Edited by Peter Bengtsen, Max Liljefors, and Moa Petersén, Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences, 2018, 125-138.</span>
Digital photograph
Still Image
UAM-ECO_0007
[location unknown]