The right to blue skies
Malaysian artist couple’s young child inspires their climate action exhibit.
AN art installation titled To Dream Of Blue Skies, which features an empty baby cot and a “cloud” hanging over it made from crumpled photographs of blue skies, is not something visitors would expect to stumble upon at Muzium Telekom in Kuala Lumpur.
But the artwork, made by husband-and-wife artist duo Oscar Lee and Celine Tan, who are also known as @co2_karbondioksida (Co2), offers a strong climate change message that will draw you into the exhibition hall.
To Dream Of Blue Skies was launched recently by Greenpeace Malaysia to mark the International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies (Sept 7) as designated by the United Nations.
“If all Malaysians are breathing polluted air, what does that mean for the most vulnerable of us (older adults, pregnant women and infants)?” asks Greenpeace Malaysia.
For Lee and Tan, this question hits home.
As new parents to a baby girl, they created To Dream Of Blue Skies to represent their hopes of a future with cleaner air for their child.
“The art piece is a dream cloud hanging over a baby’s crib. The cloud is made from 2,000 photos of blue skies printed on used paper that is sourced from a primary school – and some of those photos are probably yours!” reads a description about the installation.
Lee and Tan, who are architectsturned-art activists, started a Turn Waste To Art campaign in 2020. Via this campaign, they have worked on recycled and eco-conscious art projects, including commercial and community-driven assignments.
“Who would have thought that we would need to buy air? It wasn’t a thing 10 years ago,” says Lee, expressing his growing concerns over the air quality in Malaysia.
It is estimated that 100% of the population in Malaysia live in areas with an annual average PM2.5 air pollution level of 5-25 μg/ m3 or more according to a recent report titled Different Air Under One Sky: The Inequity Air Research published by Greenpeace India.
What that means is that our air quality is below the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for safe air quality.
The art installation – commissioned by Greenpeace Malaysia – took the couple over two weeks to put together.
As you view the installation, the trail of photographs over the baby’s crib, or “the cloud”, seems to darken under a phantom of sorts, with the baby’s dreams seemingly vanishing into thin air.
However, the spray-painted dark hues do meet light shades of blue at the end, showing that there is still hope for the younger generation if we simply act on climate action now.
“We hope this art piece is able to give some comfort to parents with their own worries on their child’s quality of air especially with the little twist of having a glimmer of hope in the shades of light blue at the whisks of the clouds,” concludes Lee.
In June, Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic’s climate action mural Transboundary Haze, was unveiled on a metal hoarding for a construction site, located between Agrobank and the National Textiles Museum along Leboh Pasar Besar in Kuala Lumpur.
That mural project with Greenpeace Malaysia was the first in a series of creative interventions planned this year, urging those in authority to hold polluters accountable for clean air as a basic human right.
To Dream Of Blue Skies is showing at Muzium Telekom in Kuala Lumpur until Oct 8. Opening times: 9am-5pm (weekdays), 10am-10pm (Saturday) and 10am-5pm (Sunday). Entrance is free. Facebook: Greenpeace Malaysia.