Reclaim Air and Water

Andrea Conte (1978), aka Andreco, is an Italian artist and scientist with a doctoral degree in environmental engineering and a postdoctoral degree in green technology and sustainability. His artistic research is focused on the relationship between humans and nature and between man-made environments and natural landscapes. Through this cross-disciplinary research, he has created a unique conceptual and visual language for his artworks. His works include a wide range of media like public installations, drawings, paintings, parades, videos and murals.

In November 2015, after ‘COP21 ’-the UN conference on climate change in Paris- Andreco started the ‘Climate Art Project’ that looks at the intersection of art, science and climate justice to create site-specific interventions in urban spaces. One of those projects was featured at the Venice Biennale in 2017. Andreco’s work has been showcased in several international festivals, museums and galleries.

Andreco’s aim for the ‘Climate Art Project’ is to underline the primary environmental weakness in each territory where the interventions take place. He does this by first investigating and then promoting the best possible solution for climate justice.

In New Delhi, the artist’s focus was on pollution of the air and water bodies, which he translated into a mural and a participative parade in Lodhi Colony. Andreco’s mural wraps the facade in a circular motion that showcases the transition of toxic emissions found within air and water into healthy clouds and wetlands. On the left part of the wall, the artist painted pollutant emissions, greenhouse gases and dust particles such as Pm 10. He used ‘Air Ink’, a unique black ink invented by MIT Pune which repurposes real air pollutants into ink.

To support the mural, he added infographics to the wall, which were taken from studies by IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Institute) and CSE (Centre for Science and Environment). The statistics explore the correlation between rising global temperatures and an increase in these pollutants over the years.

From this left part describing the current scenario, the composition flows to the right, where clean clouds and wetlands represent a hopeful future. A tree emerges from the middle of the arch, acting as a weapon to combat climate change and bring this future to life