#8

What is the topic?

Fighting the popularity of bottled water in NYC

Why did you pick this? What do you want people to know about it?

In 2014, bottled water was the #1 beverage in NYC. People in our city haven’t realized the extreme environmental hazards caused by purchasing bottled water, or perhaps don’t care enough about it. Corporations invented demand for something that is essentially free and we haven’t done enough to stop consumption.  I want people to become more aware of this, since not buying bottled water is a simple lifestyle change that can cause a big beneficial impact.

What would make a good monument/artwork to communicate your ideas on that cause/idea?

I had various ideas revolving around using actual water bottles (or the recycled plastic from the bottles)

• ·      Giant burnt plastic Poland Spring sculpture
• ·      Mountain of regular sized Poland Spring water bottles (similar to the ones in India) (this would be a sculpture too, perhaps have the bottles burnt together)
• ·      Giant plastic Poland Spring sculpture that dispenses tap water for the public

What would it look like? What is it made of? Be specific- size, materials/medium, etc.

All three sculpture ideas would be replicas of regular Poland Spring bottles, just enlarged. Plastic material would be used. Perhaps the label would say how many bottles of water were used to make it/how much pollution was prevented in the making of the sculpture. This label area could be painted. I’m guessing they’d be around 20-30ft high to really add to the intensity.

Where would it be?

Since the project is NYC-based, the sculptures should be placed around high traffic areas; around parks mainly, near museums, financial district, midtown, LES, across all boroughs – attempting to avoid tourist spots as the awareness is for us.  Depending on the areas a specific sculpture can be used (ex. the dispenser sculpture near parks)

Who is it for?

NYC mainly. However, awareness of the harmful effects of bottled water can apply to the whole country.