Ecology – M i c h a e l P i n s k y

Nov

All the Tyres in Iceland on show at NDSM, Amsterdam

All the Tyres from Iceland: NDSM, Amsterdam

22 September – 24 November 2025

All the Tyres from Iceland is a sculptural project by Michael Pinsky that has transformed discarded tyres—imported from Iceland to the Port of Amsterdam for recycling—into monumental site-specific installations. By temporarily diverting tyres from GRANUBAND’s recycling process, the work reimagines these objects of negative value as striking forms that evoke both minimalist art and the vast infrastructures of global trade. In doing so, the project highlights the paradoxes of circular economies, where waste becomes resource, and invites reflection on the systems, logistics, and values that shape our relationship with what we discard. This project is part of the european Starts4Water programme and is hosted by WAAG futurelab and the Port of Amsterdam.

https://www.ndsm.nl/en/agenda/waag

Nov

Pollution Pods at the International Cervantino Festival

Pollution Pods: Festival Internacional Cervantino

Following shows this year in Cartagena, Colombia, at the World Health Organisation’s Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, Barakaldo Bilbao and at BBK Klima in Urdaibai, the Pollution Pods will next travel to Mexico for the British Council’s showcase of UK arts at the Festival Internacional Cervantino. The UK is the Guest Country of Honour at this year’s festival, one of Latin America’s largest cultural events, running from 10–26 October.

https://festivalcervantino.gob.mx/actividad/1301/pollution-pods

Jun

Making A Stand

MAKING A STAND

15th of June 2023

LEEDS – YORKSHIRE, UK: Today (Thursday 15th June) commuters and visitors arriving into Leeds city centre have been greeted by an extraordinary sight. A remarkable sculptural ‘forest’ has taken root in the main public square outside Leeds railway station.

Comprising 127 seven-metre-high timber fins, this quietly powerful temporary installation entitled ‘Making A Stand’, aims to ‘disrupt’ the popular pedestrian route by creating an awe-inspiring artwork using commercially grown timber ‘borrowed’ from the construction supply chain, which can be repurposed when the work is dismantled at the end of the year.

Amidst the ongoing discourse surrounding climate protests and their impact on everyday lives, ‘Making A Stand’ is a thought-provoking artistic intervention that invites people to pause, explore and contemplate major environmental issues in a visually striking and provocative manner.

The installation is co-created by acclaimed visual artist Michael Pinsky (whose work is known for challenging the status quo on climate change and urban design), and award-winning environmental architects Studio Bark. It is one of 12 signature projects commissioned as part of LEEDS 2023’s transformational Year of Culture, and is inspired by the city’s origins as a forested area called Leodis over a thousand years ago, which gave rise to the name ‘Leeds’.

The co-creators of ‘Making A Stand’ aim to draw attention to the urgent need for the built environment industry to replace carbon-intensive materials like concrete and steel with more sustainable alternatives, such as timber. The project aims to ignite a conversation surrounding material life cycles and to demonstrate that large-scale, temporary art can also be created in a sustainable way.

The timber fins, which have been ‘borrowed’ from the supply chain at the point between felling and stacking, are positioned vertically making them quite literally ‘stand up’ like a ‘stand’[1] of trees in nature. The fins work together with a webbed canopy of steel wire ropes and steel struts, acting in tension and compression to ensure minimal damage to the wood so that it can be repurposed at the end of the year, minimizing waste while maximising opportunities for carbon capture and storage.

The project uses timber felled from sustainable forests in the UK where wood is grown for use in construction. Sliced into ‘fins’ by Whitney Sawmills in Herefordshire, the final stages of fabrication took place at Stage One, a specialist fabricator based near York.

Oct

The Final Bid

30.10.2022 – 26.02.2023

Draiflessen Collection

Georgstr. 18
49497 Mettingen, Germany

Opening Hours

Wednesday – Sunday
from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The first Thursday every month
from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Closed Monday and Tuesday

The Final Bid questions the ease in which we can purchase new objects whilst perfectly useable objects lie unwanted in people’s homes. Using the Draiflessen Collection as a hub for an on-lines auction, chairs will be bought and sold, creating constantly evolving meanwhile sculptures. The installation, conflating the commercial with the cultural, will encourage people to circulate objects they no longer need, promoting an economy of reuse.

The chairs rest on the ground until the opening of the exhibition. Once open, the sale begins, and the chair’s height rise as the value of the bids increase.

The sculptural presence within the gallery only represents an interruption in the re-use journey. These chairs have existed in people’s houses and they will find a new home somewhere else; the aesthetic moment is created by harnessing the byproduct of this process. In effect, the exhibition is created by borrowing assets from the community in exchange for offering a service.

The Final Bid functions in the town, in the museum and on-line. It requires people to participate in the process. Those engaging on-line will be presented with webcam view of the gallery space. As they bid, they will be able to see the height of their chosen object change accordingly. Participants can also bid in the gallery, to experience the re-configuration of the objects in real space and in real time.

The Final Bid, plays with the idea of collecting artifacts and the value they gain when placed within a museum context. Whilst some of the chairs may have significant sentimental value, they generally have a low commercial value. Following the traditions of the ready-made, they are, for a moment, displaced from their functional use, becoming a sculpture to be viewed rather than furniture to be sat on. However, they will return to their former use once purchased, as if Duchamp’s urinal was to be fitted back into a public lavatory.

Sep

Natural Cycle

Roadsworth

Natural Cycle

Roadsworth

As part of our new arts strategy X Marks the Spot for King’s Cross we have invited Roadsworth to create a mini-city with streets, pavements and crossings, combining natural elements which can been seen in Camley Street Nature Park.

Here, children of all ages can learn how to be a confident cyclist in a safe environment. Habits learnt at young age tend to stay with us for life. If a child then chooses to use the bike not the car as their primary mode of transport the carbon savings over their lifetime can be huge.

Just over twenty years ago, street artist Peter Gibson aka Roadsworth began taking to the streets of Montreal in the early mornings, spray-painting cyclist symbols on roads to protest the lack of bike lanes and paths in the city. As the number of Roadsworth’s arrest warrants mounted, his controversial street images turned the pavement into politics rekindling the debate about the nature of public art. After narrowly evading the Canadian penal system, Roadsworth went on to use his particular quirky and humorous approach to street design across the world, working with Cirque du Soleil, Tour de France and Banksy’s Can’s Festival. His approach of blending art and activism can be seen in his collaborations with organisations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International.

X Marks the Spot is a five year are programme curated by Clare Philips and Michael Pinsky
Natural Cycle is located in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross N1
Natural Cycle is open daily and will be in-situ until October 15th 2022

Oct

Pollution Drift

#POLLUTION DRIFT

16th Oct – 2nd Nov 2021

Pollution Pods journey to COP26

This October, Pollution Pods by the artist Michael Pinsky will travel to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to bring home the health impact of air pollution and the climate crisis.

Air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people globally each year. The pods will allow visitors to experience some of the worst quality air on the planet, and understand why action on air pollution is urgently needed.

The five pods will start in Granary Square, London, then disperse and drift north. Lone pods will touch down in Birmingham, Sheffield, Lancaster and Newcastle. They will reunite as a family in Glasgow on the eve of COP26, with a call for world leaders to make air pollution an explicit priority in climate action and sustainable development activities.

The Pollution Pods are a series of geodesic domes whose air quality, smell and temperature accurately recreate the pollution of five different locations on three continents: London, Beijing, São Paulo, New Delhi and Tautra, a remote peninsula in Norway. Pinsky created the pods in 2017 to test whether art can change people’s perceptions of, and actions around, climate change. Now they face their greatest challenge yet – to shift the debate on air pollution and climate change to help secure real change at COP26.

The pods will be accompanied by Ride for their Lives – staff from six UK children’s hospitals who are cycling 800km from London to Glasgow to deliver messages from the international health community including the Healthy Climate Prescription Letter, signed by 450 medical organisations across the globe.

Full details about the tour here.

Apr

Understanding Air Pollution

#2 UNDERSTANDING AIR POLLUTION

20th of April 15.00-17.00 BST

Book Tickets

This is an in depth examination of the causes, mechanisms and impacts of air pollution. What is polluting our air, why, and how does it affect us? Who is responsible and when and where are people worst affected?

Climate Acceptance Studios brings together people from all walks of life to communicate the climate and nature crisis.

That’s why in these webinars you will hear from teenage campaigners like Choked Up, and artists like Michael Pinsky, as well leading experts like Professor Stephen Holgate.

The series has been produced by Climate Acceptance Studios in partnership with the Institute of Health Equity.

The Institute of Health Equity was set up to develop approaches to health inequalities. Its mission is nothing less than to build a fairer, healthier society.

These webinars are designed for Health Care Professionals.

Introduction from Sir Prof Stephen Holgate

Michael Pinsky – internationally renowned artist
Michael is a British artist whose work explores the public realm. His recent installation Pollution Pods is touring internationally. Artnet included Pollution Pods in its list of the 100 Works of Art That Defined the Decade.

Tyler Knowlton – director of communication, communities and partnerships at Plume Labs
Tyler is an expert in the field of public engagement and policy development. He has developed and led projects at the international, national, and local levels—from governments to grassroots. He currently leads Plume Labs’ partnership efforts.

Dr Ioannis Bakolis – senior lecturer in biostatistics and epidemiology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceIoannis leads research on how social and environmental stressors such as air pollution affect the epidemiology of mental disorders over the life course. His research has been covered in multiple (inter)national media outlets and he is an expert commentator of news stories on urban mental health.

Anjali Raman-Middleton – campaigner
Anjali is co-founder of Choked-Up, a campaign group started by black and brown teenagers living in areas worst affected by air pollution. The group lobbies for cleaner air legislation and the right for everyone to breathe clean air.

Apr

DESIGN FOR EMERGENCY

#2 DESIGN FOR EMERGENCY

19th of April 17.30-19.00 BST

Book Tickets

This evening we will be hosting designers and artists who are using materiality and craft to generate change. Their work proves design can be a powerful tool to convey political messages as well as directly impact communities and the environment.

A series of online evening talks about the intersection of design, biology and technology.

Material Futures students present a series of talks inhabiting the intersection of craft, biology and technology. Over the course of three evenings we will bring together international thought-leading academics, designers and scientists who challenge the future of design, to explore possible futures through the lens of materiality – in its broader sense.

About Material Futures: This symposium is organised by the MA Material Futures students at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London. Material Futures is a trans-disciplinary research program with an emphasis on learning through making. The course aims to develop materials and systems for a more sustainable future. We are organising this event with the objective to raise funds to secure a platform in which to showcase our research projects.

Professor Lucy Orta, Visual Artist, Chair of Art and the Environment, University of the Arts London: Prof. Lucy Orta is a an artist who uses clothing and installations as tools of communication. She (and Studio Orta) work on projects relating to population displacement, water scarcity and the global food chain, and she collaborates with actors of social change.
Dr Michael Pinsky, Visual Artist, Reader, University of East London: Dr Michael Pinsky is an artist and activist. He has designed urban installations which challenge the status quo on climate change, air quality, cities design, or societal matters. For example his recent ‘Pollution Pods’ emulate the quality of the air in different cities around the world.
Singgih Susilo Kartono, Product Designer, Founder of Magno: Magno is a brand of wooden craft products recognised by multiple international awards. The concern on the current rural situation in Indonesia motivated Singgih to develop Spedagi, a village revitalization movement iconized by the bamboo bike. In 2020, Singgih proposes ‘Cyral-Spiriterial’ – a macro conception of how the global sustainable livelihood could possibly be attained.

Dec

Pollution Pods at COP25 in Madrid

Pollution Pods – COP25 Madrid
IFEMA
Av. del Partenón, Nº 5, 28042 Madrid, Spain2 December – 13 December 2019

The Pollution Pods are being presented by Cape Farewell and the World Health Organisation at COP25 in Madrid.

A series of domes will recreate the pollution from London, Beijing, São Paulo, New Delhi and Tautra in Norway. Forming a ring in the gardens of the Nations Headquarters, visitors will pass through the climatically controlled pods to compare the quality of polluted global environments. All five Pollution Pods are linked, so that one has to pass through all of them in order to exit the installation. This visceral experience encapsulates the sense that the world – and our own impact on it – is interconnected.

Michael Pinsky will be presenting discussing the installation at CaixaForum in Madrid, on December 12th as part of ¿ Más grados° más arte? an event organised by Art of Change 21, The event will be held in Spanish and English with simultaneous translations. Admission is free and open to all.

Pollution Pods was originally commissioned by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for Climart and has been built with the support of BuildwithHubs. Pollution Pods has received funding from Arts Council England. The tour of Pollution Pods is managed by Cape Farewell. Pollution cocktails created are by IFF‘s global network of scent experts and dispersed using Aroma technology.

Sep

Pollution Pods tour UK & Australia

Michael Pinsky: Pollution Pods tour UK & Australia

Pollution Pods land in Greater Manchester for Clean Air Week 2019
Media City Piazza, Salford M50 2QH17 June – 23 June 2019
Media Launch 5pm on 17 June.

A series of domes will recreate the pollution from London, Beijing, São Paulo, New Delhi and Tautra in Norway. Forming a ring in the centre of Jack Poole Plaza, visitors will pass through the climatically controlled pods to compare the quality of polluted global environments. All five Pollution Pods are linked, so that one has to pass through all of them in order to exit the installation. This visceral experience encapsulates the sense that the world – and our own impact on it – is interconnected.

The entry pod, emulating a peninsula in Norway called Tautra, will use an Airlabs filter to remove all harmful gases to create fresh air. A smorgasbord of metropolises will follow, each with their own specific and nuanced polluted environments; from London’s invisible but deadly output of nitrogen oxides to New Delhi’s suffocating haze of airborne particles.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Air pollution is a major public health risk and we have to take urgent steps to tackle the issue in Greater Manchester. It’s also vital that we raise awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality. These Pollution Pods provide a really innovative and interesting way of allowing people to safely experience poor air quality for themselves and I would urge anyone who can make it to come along and find out more”.

On Thursday 13th a team of air quality scientists from Kings College in London will be on site working with Manchester schools to better inform our youngsters what causes pollution and how we all need to be part of the solution – walking to school, bicycling, using clean public transport. Clean Air Week itself aims to increase awareness of dirty air, which contributes to the equivalent of 1,200 deaths in Greater Manchester each year, as well as the simple changes we can all take to make our region’s air cleaner. This year the focus is on encouraging people to try walking and cycling for more of their short journeys.

Portland to host Pollution Pods
Presented in association with b-side
Portland, Stadium Bowl, Fortuneswell, Portland DT529 June – 1 July 2019

Launch event 28 June, 5pm – 7pm
b-side Assemblies 04: Making Art in Times of Crisis
Join artists Michael Pinsky, Leni Dothan and writer and Extinction Rebellion activist Sara Hudston for a lively and incisive discussion. Both artists have made work in response to the ever-increasing threat of pollution, this event includes a tour of ‘Pollution Pods’ and a screening of “Age of Smoke: Painting the Predator” a BatFish Films short documentary directed by Naima Vogt and Martine Stephen, and co-produced by Thais Martin. The film tells the story of Israeli artist Leni Dothan’s year-long collaboration with a team of chemists from UCL, during which they developed a series of pollution-reactive sculptures to raise public awareness about the danger of pollution in London. The film follows the team from start to finish as they prepare to exhibit ‘The Portland Stone Rehabilitation Centre’ at the 2018 b-side Festival.

This event is co-presented by Cape Farewell and b-side.
For more information

Pollution Pods at Science Gallery Melbourne
Treasury Gardens,Spring St, East Melbourne VIC 3002, Australia22 August – 1 September 2019. Closed Sunday 25 August
Keynote public talk at the University of Melbourne, 20 August

The Pollution Pods will have a twilight opening in Melbourne on 22nd August 2019, centre stage at the White Night Festival before a further week-long opening as part of Melbourne Science Gallery’s DISPOSABLE season.

This event is co-presented by Science Gallery Melbourne and White Nights

All the Tyres in Iceland on show at NDSM, Amsterdam

Pollution Pods at the International Cervantino Festival