Today, June the 5th, on World Environment Day 2019, we celebrate the United Nations’ biggest annual event for positive environmental action to encourage worldwide awareness of the need to protect our planet, with a design project. The theme of World Environment Day 2019 is #BeatAirPollution, calling on governments, industry, communities and individuals to take action to explore renewable energy and green technologies and improve the air quality in cities and regions across the world. The project we chose is designed by Jihee Moon as part of RCA Design Products special project for VENICE DESIGN 2019. It is curated by Janice Li and co-organized by Anne Zhou and Taiho Shin with the support of Andrew Pierce.Although the air pollution in London is invisible to the naked eye, it could cause between 28,000 to 36,000 deaths a year. So what if the soap we use would harm our skin instead of cleaning it? Because encapsulated inside this everyday necessary item would be metal and concrete dust along with soot… To materialize those harmful effects of air pollution, jiheemoon created the paradoxical and thoughtful “PM 2.5 pollution soaps”. Using design as a provocative tool, in order to raise awareness she is challenging the problem-solving nature of design thinking. “2.5 PM pollutant soaps” project confronts users with a deeper ethical question in order to induce enduring reflections and reevaluation of one’s daily decisions in relation to their environment. VENICE DESIGN 2019 Palazzo Michiel del Brusà Venice, Italy European Cultural Centre 11th of May – 24th of November 2019 Photos © Taiho Shin
