23PollutionSolution 2010

Chin Chih Yang sees that pollution has become a pervasive

part of our lives.  Political leaders demonstrated in Copenhagen

their refusal to take decisive action for the environment.  

They performed concern instead of actualizing it, believing

change might occur with a simple snap of the fingers, like 1-2-3.

As a result of this short sightedness, the onus falls upon citizen 

artists to develop a collective solution.

In 123PollutionSolution, Yang addresses society’s

efforts to protect itself both physically and 

psychologically from environmental catastrophe.
Consumerism can be defined as the tendency towards
buying products or services especially associated

with status brands or expensive items. Our world is
permeated with consumerist or market culture. It is

a status symbolism that signals social standing and
socio-economic place creating in many instances a

cultural hegemony. This type of culture is more

prone to endanger the environment because of its

addiction to consumerism. We are exceeding our

global production capacities depleting by taking
from countries with lower consumerism to feed the

ones with higher capacities in this area. In order to

reduce environmental pollution we must first 

address and combat the problem of consumerism.

His large-scale 123PollutionSolution 2010 project

transforms thousands of used aluminum cans into a 

colorful landscape with its varied topography.  

Yang collected discarded cans found in New York City

ash cans left by students and parents from a local School.

Ubiquitous concavities and hills, slopes and peaks, the

installation features cans bunched into various abstract

and geometric shapes.  The structure represents an

otherworldly utopia constructed out of salvaged waste.

This imaginary alien village provides shelter to humans

seeking refuge from the earth's pollution. The work satirically

draws attention to the refuse generated everyday by the

seemingly benign act of consuming a beverage or pre-packaged

food product.  It also points to the investment in re-building 

that true change requires.  Lights will illuminate the sea of cans 

and video projections will cement his commentary

on conspicuous consumption.