Distilling the Sky
From air to liquid, the result of Dr. Pinar Yoldas’ Distilling the Sky is highly condensed, extremely thick, distinctly precious drops of air pollution, delicately contained in a custom designed glass vessel.
In Distilling the Sky, the condensed drops of air pollution become the ink for the calligraphers of the 21st century. As part of the project, she would like to present this poisonous ink to calligraphers in Beijing or in Istanbul, where the art of calligraphy still persists, or printmakers in Los Angeles and New York to ask one simple question: “What would you write with this ink that symbolizes the severity of pollution in your city?” As the calligrapher/writer/printmaker performs with this unusual ink, a platform for contemplation, reflection and discussion opens up.
Distilling the Sky is a continuum of former projects such as the Very Loud Chamber Orchestra of Endangered Species and An Ecosystem of Excess where different aspects of anthropogenic impact on our planet have been explored. From rapid species loss due to global warming, to ecosystem disturbances due to plastic pollution, her work seeks novel and poetic ways to create awareness on these rather bitter subject matters. Most environmental problems we are confronted with today, share two qualities : inaccessibility and complexity. She believes that through a successful marriage of art and science, such problems can be grasped fully by the larger public. Distilling the Sky is such an attempt to create a poetic moment around a critical issue.
One ultimate goal of this project is to create new artistic experiences for the urban-dwelling, hyper networked audiences of 21st century. Therefore documentation of the research project will be of great importance. The research phase comes to conclusion in the form of an artistic research book, which documents air pollution facts, exchanges with scientists and experts, together with designs and prototypes for Distilling the Sky.