Public Realm – M i c h a e l P i n s k y

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.

Oct

Landmark – SkyArts

HOOD is featured on SkyArts new series called Landmark. Episode 6. Other artists featured in this episode are Annie Catrell and Kevin Callaghan. Available on Freeview Channel 11. Judged by Clare Lilley and Hetan Patel. View link here.

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

Apr

Spring Newsletter 2019

Michael Pinsky: Spring Newsletter 2019

View this email in your browser

Pollution Pods – TED2019: Bigger Than Us
Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver, BC, Canada15 April – 19 April 2019Pollution Pods will be exhibited for the TED2019: Bigger Than Us, TED’s flagship annual conference.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.

Life Pulse – Spare Parts: Rethinking Human Repair
Science Gallery London
Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9GU28 Feb – 12 May 2019The SPARE PARTS season will explore the art, science, ethics and technology that enables human repair and alteration. It considers the emotional and psychological aspects of living with a replacement organ or limb; organic or engineered. Developed alongside scientists from King’s College London, the free exhibition and accompanying events programme invites visitors to question whether ‘spare parts’ can exist outside the biological body, or whether our bodies can be a sum of independent parts that are regenerated, enhanced, donated or altered.More information

Freiburg 2018
Konzerthaus Freiburg, Germany Michael Pinsky’s talk, filled with humor and charm, is a strong statement against air pollution and excessive use of cars. It reveals the mythologies normally associated with the car as the supposedly best means of transport and shows the paradox that in many ways they achieve the opposite result for which they were designed. Showing some of his art objects, he expresses his message in a creative and entertaining way.
https://youtu.be/87zoSgPAmNk www.tedxfreiburg.com

North Stoneham Park
Eastleigh, HampshireMichael Pinsky has been selected to develop a series of permanent art interventions throughout a new development in North Stoneham Park which was a landscaped parkland designed by Capability Brown.More information

West Bay in Dorset

A new plaza for West Bay which includes a bespoke bench which showcases motorbikes will be completed before the summer.

Michael Pinsky is collaborating with a cross-disciplinary team of engineers, planners and consultants to; create a new hub for the centre of West Bay, construct a boardwalk and viewing platform, enhance the beach promenade and improve access to a cycle path.

The project is coordinated by the Dorset Coast Forum and the Arts Development Company and will be complete by the end of 2019.

More information

Oct

Autumn Newsletter 2018

Pollution Pods – Place des Nations

1202 Genève, Switzerland

29 Oct – 2 Nov 2018

Pollution Pods will be exhibited for the World Health Organisation ‘s first global conference on air pollution.

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 the iconic Place des Nations, 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.

Pollution Pods – Klimahaus
Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8 ° Ost
Am Längengrad 8, 27568 Bremerhaven, Germany9 Nov – 9 Dec 2018

Pollution Pods will be hosted by this innovative museum which allows visitors to travel the world to help them understand the global impact of climate change.

More information

Place Lalla Yeddouna – nearing completion
Fez Medina, MoroccoPlace Lalla Yeddouna in the heart of the Fez’s Medina, designed by Mossessian & Partners, contains seven courtyards for which Michael Pinsky has created patterns appropriating both the ancient tradition of Zellige design and the sixties tradition of minimalism.

Public Art Commission – Eaux-Vives station
Geneva, SwitzerlandMichael Pinsky’s proposals for an artistic intervention on the perimeter of the new Eaux-Vives station, designed by Jean Nouvel are are now being considered by the Contemporary Art Fund of the City of Geneva. Other shortlisted artists include: Rosa Barba, Kim Sooja and Dider Marcel.

Public Art Commission – California Air Resources Board (CARB)
Riverside County, California, USAMichael Pinsky has been shortlisted by the California Air Resources Board and Dyson & Womack to create a permanent artistic intervention for their new campus in California.

www.carb.dysonwomack.com

IFRA UK 2018 Fragrance Forum
The Wellcome Collection
London, United Kingdom10 Oct 2018

Lizzie Ostrom will explore the emerging trend for using ambient scent to create mood and special effects in a variety of settings. Pollution Pods by Michael Pinsky, will be used to demonstrate animation of public health issues through scent, the psychological impact of bad air quality and promoting a visceral reaction through aromas.

Book a place

WHO’s First Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health
WHO Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland31 Oct 2018

Michael Pinsky has been invited to give a panel presentation as part of a session highlighting communication, advocacy and partnerships.

More Information

TEDxFreiburg 2018
Konzerthaus Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany8 Dec 2018

Michael Pinsky has been invited to give a TEDx talk exploring whether art can save the world.

www.tedxfreiburg.com

Apr

Film Articles for Pollution Pods

Apr

Pollution Pods at Somerset House

April 18th – 25th 2018

A series of domes simulates the pollution from London, Beijing, São Paulo, New Delhi and Tautra in Norway. Forming a ring in the centre of Somerset House courtyard, visitors pass through 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 uses an Airlabs filter to remove all harmful gases to create fresh air. A smorgasbord of metropolises 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. The environments have been created in collaboration with chemists and fragrance experts including: Odette Toilette, International Flavors & Fragrances, Iscent and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.

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.

Photo credit: Peter Macdiarmid for Somerset House.

Film Credit: Sam Bevitt for BuildwithHubs

Feb

Artist’s led collaboration for £2m improvement project in West Bay

Pinsky will be part of a cross-disciplinary team of engineers, planners and consultants. The West Bay work is part of the wider Dorset Coastal Connections portfolio of 18 projects. The portfolio is funded by the Coastal Community Fund and coordinated by the Dorset Coast Forum. The Arts Development Company is working collaboratively with Dorset Coast Forum and the individual project teams. The project will continue until Summer 2019.

Cleo Evans, Art and Environment Lead at the Arts Development Company, said:

‘It’s fantastic to have an artist of this calibre working on West Bay. His work is internationally renowned and exceptionally high quality.’

The project a covers a new central ‘Hub’, the construction of a boardwalk and viewing platform on East Beach, enhancements to the West Beach promenade and the creation of a cycle path between West Bay and Bridport.

Jun

Pollution Pods launch at Starmus

June 18, 2017 – July 7, 2017

A series of domes containing pollution from cities around the world will be placed in the Norwegian city of Trondheim as part of an investigation by psychologists to ascertain whether art can really change people’s perception of climate change.

Five interconnected geodesic domes will contain carefully mixed recipes emulating the relative presence of ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide which pollute London, New Delhi, San Paolo and Beijing. Starting from a coastal location in Norway, the visitor will pass through increasingly polluted cells, from dry and cold locations to hot and humid.

The release of toxic gases from domestic and industrial sources both increase the rate of global warming and have a direct effect on our present-day health. In the West, in cities such as London, one in five children suffer from asthma, whilst in the developing countries such as Delhi, over half the children have stunted lung development and will never completely recover.

Whilst those in the developed world live in an environment with relatively clean air, people in countries such as China and India are being poisoned by the airborne toxins created from industries fulfilling orders from the West. The experience of walking through the pollution pods demonstrates that these worlds are interconnected and interdependent. The desire for ever cheaper goods is reflected in the ill-health of many people in world and in the ill-health of our planet as a whole. Within this installation we will be able to feel, taste and smell the toxic environments that are the norm for a huge swathe of the world’s population.

Pollution Pods has been commissioned by NTNU as part of Climart a four-year research project that examines the underlying psychological mechanisms involved in both the production and reception of visual art using these findings in an attempt to unite the natural sciences to the visual arts. The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council and is housed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.

Pollution Pods will be shown as part of the STARMUS festival in Trondheim, Norway. The STARMUS festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music and art. Scientists and astronomers including Stephen Hawking and Buzz Aldrin will be speaking as part of this festival.

Norwegian Research Council
Build With Hubs
The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU)
Airlabs
University of East London

If you would like to attend the launch event please email here for more information.

Pollution Pods is located on Festning, 7014 Trondheim. 63°25’42.0″N 10°24’44.1″E
https://goo.gl/maps/LfDHpmG9TfN2
Opening hours
Tuesday -Saturday 12.00 – 20.00
Sunday 12.00 – 18.00

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