A group of art students in Brazil used trash from the shore of a local waterway to create an art exhibition aiming to draw attention to Brazil’s ongoing pollution problems.
The students were from the Rio de Janeiro Federal University, a school on an island in the middle of Guanabara Bay, where the sailing events will be held at next summer’s 2016 Rio Olympic Games. A group of around 30 students pulled bits of trash from the shore near them and created sculptures of animals with them as a statement against Brazil’s massive pollution problem, ESPN reports.
The ESPN piece quotes one of the artists, Fabio Drumond, as saying the area is being destroyed by discarded garbage:
“Dolls, wood, chairs, tires, televisions — everything that doesn’t work anymore gets thrown into the water,” Drumond said. “It’s being destroyed by garbage.”
Pollution is one of the biggest concerns still facing the next Olympic hosts. Back in March, the Brazilian government admitted it was unlikely the area would be able to meet its pollution cleanup goals by the time the Olympics arrive.
Guanabara Bay, the sailing venue, has been the most-publicized pollution site so far, but the open water swimming and triathlon site, known as Copacabana, has its own issues, namely sewage runoff and fecal bacteria. Last fall, several major athletic federations expressed concern at the condition of Brazil’s waterways, and even threatened possible cancellations of Olympic events if the water quality didn’t meet certain standards by next summer.
Oscar the grouch is offended by this art work.