Thirteen thousand, six hundred and ninety-nine people die each day from preventable diseases related to water. Artist Christine Destrempes decided to represent this daily loss of human life by stringing together 13,699 clear plastic bottle caps and arranging them in a powerful installation.
13,699
According to the artist:
The choice of using plastic bottle caps calls attention to other related environmental issues surrounding bottled water, such as privatization, depletion of aquifers, the environmental impact of plastic waste, the use of fossil fuels in making plastic, the carbon footprint of shipping bottled water, and the leaching of plastic into our water sources. Purchasing bottled water turns a basic human right into a commodity, affecting access for people in developing countries, as well as here in the United States.
Photos of the actual installation are available here. Thanks to Elizabeth Royte—author of the must-read Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It—for the informaiton on this project.
Tags: 13699, Bottled Water, Bottlemania, Christine Destrempes, elizabeth royte, plastic, Water
everydaytrash 
Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 1:22 pm |
This is awesome, I can’t wait to see the finished installation.
I have a filter in my fridge, but my husband brings bottled water to work everyday for his lunch. Maybe we need to move to a Nalgene bottle or something.
Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 1:27 pm |
Just saw the finished installation, gorgeous!
Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 8:37 pm |
Isnt’ it??