From centuries, art has played a central role in the life and development of entire populations. In this sense, art constituted a pedagogical vehicle based on images, references and colors.
Nowadays it seems that this aspect of art is not central anymore; in fact, art is now detached from every-day life.
However, also the way of doing art can change; it can evolve and, why not, it can go back to “teach” how to respect the environment through the conscious use of resources.
This is the idea behind the project of Anirudh Sharma, a MIT Media Lab researcher, together with the Graviky Labs’ researchers. The project aims to the development of a technology that turns carbon emissions into ink.
Sharma has in fact created a device, called Air-Ink, which captures toxic pollutants and transforms them in clean ink. This process is possible by retrofitting another device, called Kaalink, to the exhaust pipe of vehicles, which captures the 95% of outgoing particulate matter.
All the recovered material is then chemically processed until the ink is synthesized. The resulting product is non-toxic and waterproof. In fact, the ink is obtained through the condensation of unburned carbon soot (one of the main causes of air pollution).
After the production of Air-Ink, Graviky Labs has supported the creation of several artistic products, with the aim of sponsoring “green art”. Air-Ink represents an excellent way to use and mitigate air pollution. Most importantly, thanks to this device, it is possible to transform 45 minutes of car emissions in a full charge for a 30 ml ink marker.
From degrade to re-creation. This is the main message behind the innovative system supported by Air-Ink, which turns in reality the words of Buckminster Fuller: “Pollution is nothing but resources we’re not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value”.
Revolution starts exactly from here: pollution and all the other toxic agents, which we have in vain tried to get rid of, may be controlled and recycled in a virtuous and positive manner and, why not, turned into art.
