Perth art lovers can soon experience one of the defining works of the past decade, when British artist Michael Pinsky’s Pollution Pods arrive at Elizabeth Quay.
The powerful sensory art installation, which will be in Perth for 10 days from October 23, lets visitors experience a spectrum of atmospheres from the pristine clean air of Norway to the visible smog and humidity of Beijing and New Delhi.
The work, created almost 10 years ago, has had about 33 showings internationally, including in New York, Madrid, London, Switzerland and Norway. Globally, more than 30,000 visitors have experienced it, including presidents and prime ministers. But it’s only visited Australian once before — in Melbourne in 2019.
Pinsky’s Pollution Pods have been described as a visceral, confronting and striking experience, which is both captivating and alarming in about equal measure.
The immersive installation blends science with art and aims to get participants to reflect on the quality of the air we breathe. RAC is bringing experience to Perth in a bid to spark a conversation about clean air and help Western Australians understand the impact of vehicle emissions on our health and environment.
Pinksy told Western Suburbs Weekly from London this week that while the sculptured domes were beautiful to look at, people who visited where often shocked by how dreadful the experience was. And knowing it was unpleasant didn’t put people off.
“We had 12,000 people through in four days in Melbourne,” he said. “People are intrigued. They want to experience it.”
The Pollution Pods are a series of interconnected domes that safely replicate the climate,visibility, and smell of five different locations – Tautra, a remote peninsula in Norway, London, São Paulo, Beijing and New Delhi.
Visitors experience escalating pollution levels and shifting climates as they move through the pods.
“There are four factors at play to create each atmosphere. It’s safe but becomes really unpleasant,” Pinksy said.
“Some pollutants, such as nitric oxide from poorly combusted diesel, don’t have a physical register at all. But I reference that by recreating the smell of the traffic, the smell of factories or waste. I change the temperature and humidity levels, and in some cases the visibility.”
The UK-based Pinsky is known for international projects that challenge the status quo on climate change, urban design and societal wellbeing.
He has had work shown at the Tate, Saatchi Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, and he has worked with international agencies such as the World Health Organisation.
Pinksy said he conceived the artwork after being asked by a group of Norwegian environmental psychologists to make a work they could study to see whether it could change people’s minds about climate change. It is now listed on Artnet’s 100 list of 100 works of art the defined the decade, and was featured on the BBC as one of the best ways to change the world.
“I came up with about 15 ideas and ended up focusing on this,” Pinksy said.
“Focusing on air pollution meant I could engage with people directly. Many people living in big cities, and while pollution is not directly related to climate change, it runs parallel to that debate. It’s a a good backdoor into a climate change conversation.”
Pinsky said he had tried to distil a whole bodily sense of being in each of the five locations captured in the interconnected installation.
“Pollution is invisible, but its effects are not,” he said. “Pollution Pods makes people experience air pollution rather than simply hear about it.
“I’m delighted to bring the work to Perth and hope it prompts people to think differently about the air we share and the choices we make to protect it.”
RAC head of communications Rhys Heron said the experience would hopefully get West Australians thinking about local air quality. After touring the pods, visitors will also be able to calculate the emissions generated by their own daily commutes on RAC’s purpose-built emissions calculator.
“The blue skies and fresh air we enjoy today are not something to be taken for granted,” he said.
“Traffic emissions remain Perth’s biggest air quality challenge. We hope the Pollution Pods help inspire action across our community, as even small changes to your daily commute can make a big difference.
“For those who can, opting to take public transport, walking, cycling, carpooling, reducing unnecessary trips and choosing low-emissions vehicles can be great options.”
Pinksy said a decade-on, he was aware of much faster climate change was occurring compared to the predictions around at the time his artwork was conceived, but was trying not to feel discouraged.
Over the years, he has created a couple of different permutations of the installation, including one build around industry sectors rather than cities, but the current configuration seemed to best resonate with audiences.
”People like imaging themselves transported from one continent to another,” he said.
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