The original hi-tech works of this artist-maker offer concrete contributions against climate change
When art intervenes actively to raise awareness, stimulate reflection on universal concepts, and give concrete help, it is precisely at that moment that, with an excellent probability, it is carrying out one of its most important missions.
This is the case of the works of the Argentine Joaquin Fargas, a figure that is much more than a “simple” artist. His creations, in fact, have found a perfect location at the Maker Faire Rome – the European Edition 2019, the largest European event dedicated to innovation. At first, one would wonder what the role of an artist is in such a context. The answer lies precisely in the profile of Fargas who, besides being the creator of original designs and projects, is also a very valid maker.
Joaquin and the other artists who took part in the event at the Fiera di Roma, in fact, became the bearers of works that reflect on very important issues for the society in which we live and try to give concrete and contextualized answers. Through technology, in the case of Fargas, useful instruments have been developed to actively help the environment.
In exactly what way? With two installations of great interest, halfway between artistic products and hi-tech inventions, which help fight drought and melting glacial ice. We are talking about Dowser and Glaciator, projects that take into account the climatic changes that our planet is experiencing and try to intervene in a tangible way.
The first is an art installation located in Antarctica, which includes solar robots that, by compacting the snow, accelerate the formation of ice in the areas most at risk of melting. Dowser, on the other hand, is an art installation located in the most arid and desert contexts of the Earth, where it stores solar energy to generate water and, therefore, help sustain life.
These are symbolic and practical artworks at the same time, which fit into a noble ideal of the recovery of climatic conditions that often appear almost irreversible. At the same time, these art installations are artistic, technological, and scientific prototypes that effectively represented the spirit of the Maker Faire, an event that makes innovation, creativity, and technology useful resources and within the scope of all areas of our lives.
