FRESH

The FRESH project attempts to raise awareness about the high cost of bottled water in Chicago, a city that has very good quality tap water. The purpose of FRESH was to initiate a conversation about environmental issues around the consumption of bottled water—ironically considered by many to be a smart healthy beverage choice.

FRESH brought the bottled vs. tap debate into the street for discussion. A digital projection that displayed bottled water labels stripped of logos served as a backdrop for the artist-run “taste tests.”

This composition was generated by custom animation software written by the artist. The software creates tableau of artificial landscapes found on labels of popular brands of bottled water. The images seem familiar. Stripped of their bar codes and corporate logos, the mountains and waterfalls are curious symbols for a product that is proven to have harmful effects on the environment.

In the FRESH street-level workshops, passerby were asked to identify the the “best tasting” sample between the tap water and a popular brand of bottled water. 76 participated; exactly half chose the tap water as the better-flavored beverage.

Free bottles of water, ultimately to be filled with Chicago tap water, were distributed as a “reward” for participation. See image below.

FRESH
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The FRESH project attempts to raise awareness about the high cost of bottled water in Chicago, a city that has very good quality tap water. The purpose of FRESH was to initiate a conversation about environmental issues around the consumption of bottled water—ironically considered by many to be a smart healthy beverage choice. FRESH brought the bottled vs. tap debate into the street for discussion. A digital projection that displayed bottled water labels stripped of logos served as a backdrop for the artist-run “taste tests.” This composition was generated by custom animation software written by the artist. The software creates tableau of artificial landscapes found on labels of popular brands of bottled water. The images seem familiar. Stripped of their bar codes and corporate logos, the mountains and waterfalls are curious symbols for a product that is proven to have harmful effects on the environment. In the FRESH street-level workshops, passerby were asked to identify the the “best tasting” sample between the tap water and a popular brand of bottled water. 76 participated; exactly half chose the tap water as the better-flavored beverage. Free bottles of water, ultimately to be filled with Chicago tap water, were distributed as a “reward” for participation. See image below.