Three young artists have made popsicles using water from 100 polluted sources across the nation to draw attention to the degradation of the nation’s water sources.
The “Polluted Water Popsicle Factory” organized by National Taiwan University of Arts visual design students, aims to draw attention to the degradation of the environment by creating a contrast between visual and psychological information, artist Hung Yi-chen (洪亦辰) said.
The trio on Wednesday uploaded a video featuring the popsicles on its Facebook page, after which the number of the group’s followers surged from 7,000 to 11,000, Hung said.
Photo: CNA, provided by the Polluted Water Popsicles Factory
The water samples were taken from sewage drains, rivers, harbors and wastewater pipes around the nation and were slow-frozen into popsicles, each with its own, individually designed wrapper, Hung said.
The water was collected from sampling locations used by water resource bureaus, she said, adding that they numbered the popsicles by sampling location from the north to the south.
Previous campaigns using posters have failed to raise public awareness and the group believes that using visual and psychological tactics to shock the audience might work better, Hung said.
“The stench of popsicle No. 1 from Keelung Harbor was the worst and it left a greasy coat on the bottle. The night market ditches are also pretty gross. A popsicle made from a ditch in Yunlin County was full of bugs, but water from Taitung County’s Chihshang (池上) was comparatively clean,” she said.
The artists experimented by giving popsicles to their classmates, who thought they looked pretty and delicious, but after they were told that they were made of dirty water, they threw them away, she said.
A yellow popsicle Hung showed reporters was made from water infested by the eggs of channeled applesnail, considered one of the world’s worst invasive species by international conservation groups.
Taipei World Trade Center, Exhibition Hall 1 is to showcase polyresin replicas of the popsicles from today through Monday.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS