Foundation Studio: Spatial Dynamics, Fall 2017
Instructor: Gareth Jones
Theme: Time
Materials: Baltic birch plywood, Metal dowels, Gouache.
Air pollution is responsible for many health problems in urban areas. Delhi, the capital of India, has been declared as one of the most polluted cities in the world. The situation worsens every year during winter when fog and smoke combine. The airborne particles and toxic chemicals that make up the smog have choked 19 million residents of this metropolitan area, where merely breathing the air is like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day.
To bring more attention to this issue, I made a sculpture by laser-cutting wood in the shape of the outline of Delhi’s map. A hollow irregular space was cut out from between to depict my personal observation of the degradation of air from 1999, the year I was born, to 2017. Using gouache paints, I showed the contamination of air which expanded throughout the city.
A close-up of one of the gouache paintings depicting the degradation of white air because of the addition of industrial and domestic wastes.
The 10 pieces were then stacked together at some distance using 2 metal dowels at opposite ends.
I used a QR code to title my work, which when scanned links to my blog that provides more stats and figures on the extreme situation Delhi is facing.
The final sculpture with years indicating the depressive state of air quality.
