Ossario - Art Less Pollution
Urban intervention by Alexandre Orion, Reverse Graffiti
Jahr: 2007
Sprache: / OV
Land: BR
Länge: 4min
Regie: Alexandre Orion
Website: http://www.alexandreorion.com
- 12.10.2007 16:00 Uhr
OSSARIO is na intervention created by ALEXANDRE ORION in one of São Paulo's road tunnels, spending 13 nights or early mornings using pieces of cloth to remove some of the thick layer of soot from vehicle exhausts impregnating sidewalls. But the grime was selectively wiped off in such a way that skulls were outlined by the grime left on the walls. The tunnel became a catacomb with over 3,500 hand-designed skulls reminding people that the same black soot impregnating tunnel walls also darkens our lungs and our lives. Our very own archeological site was brought to our notice.
The work was done at night as Orion faced deafening traffic noise, the suffocating sensation of stagnant air, and numerous police checks. But cleaning is not a crime; polluting is. As the work progressed, it became clear that nobody could stop him cleaning up - except by doing the job before him. So a few weeks later, teams of municipal workers turned up to remove grime, but only from the intervention area. The rest of the tunnel was left as it was. As if nothing had happened, Orion continued working until the municipal staff returned. This time, they washed the whole tunnel. The name of the crime had changed: now it was censorship.