From
the winter simplicity of the Woluwe Park in Brussels (Belgium) this
artwork explores some of the foundational
conflicts
of western society in the 21st century: our desperate denial of the
psychological and philosophical clash
between contradictory
desires, experiences and realities; and our longing to connect with
the natural dimension of life, while we suffocate it with deeply
ingrained habits of extractive consumption.
“Confusa
la historia
y
clara la pena.”
Antonio
Machado’s poetry (1875-1939) accompanies this piece of
environmental art which challenges the spectator about the concepts
of luxury vs. primary need and accessory vs. fundamental consumption.
It does so through an everyday product with a useful life of less
than
1 minute, in contrast with the 5 million minutes of life of a young
tree cut down to make the virgin pulp. From different spots, admiring
an almost spectral landscape and with their backs to “5.000.000 a
1” (part 1), the spectators listen to the audio recording of a
complete cycle of the virgin toilet paper industrial manufacturing
process.