Pollution Pods - Michael Pinsky

About

Five  geodesic domes each contain carefully created environments, emulating different atmospheric conditions globally. Visitors begin in Tautra in Norway, breathing in clean smelling air and then continuing through to the cities of London, New Delhi, Beijing and Sao Paulo which between them suffer from some of the lowest air quality in the world. Each replicates nuanced polluted environments containing varying levels of ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. London with its invisible but high levels of nitrogen dioxide sits next to New Delhi where the air is instead filled with a haze of airborne particles. It is estimated that the average Londoner, exposed to the current levels of pollution, loses up to 16 months of their life, while for a resident of New Delhi it could cut short life by around 4 years. 

Taking inspiration from Buckminster Fullers' geodesic domes, originally designed in the early 20th century to provide sustainable disaster-resistant global shelter using forms drawn from nature, the sculptural exterior starkly contrasts with the interpretation of toxic everyday realities within.

Caused by a whole array of domestic and industrial products and process, this artwork explores air pollution as one of the many the environmental and human impacts of contemporary consumerism. Pinsky's work invites visitors to consider the complex and interconnected nature of our world, and aims to challenge perceptions of, and action around, climate change. 

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

After the exhibition in Granary Square the Pods will 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 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 300 medical organisations across the globe. The riders include Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children chief executive Mat Shaw, British Medical Journal editor in chief Fiona Godlee, Royal College of Physicians president Dr Andrew Goddard, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child’s Health president Dr Camilla Kingdon and UK Health Alliance on Climate Change chair Richard Smith. At each stop the riders will gather by the pod or pods to speak on air pollution and climate change. They will also be joined virtually through the Strava app by healthcare providers from Chile to France to Australia and many more.