AN INTERACTIVE Art installation designed to give people the experience of being in a highly polluted city is coming to Brownsea Island.

Pollution Pods, created by British artist Michael Pinsky, aim to recreate the atmosphere of five major cities; Tautra, London, Beijing, São Paulo and New Delhi.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg also tried out the geodesic domes this weekend at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.

Now, people in Dorset will be able to experience the different air qualities, smell and temperature of each city, without any harm to their health.

This Brownsea Island installation is in collaboration between Activate, producers of Inside Out Dorset, the county’s outdoor arts festival and Cape Farewell, the artist-led organisation that uses culture to change how people think about climate change and is supported by the National Trust.

Kate Wood, Executive and Artistic Director of Activate said: “This art installation raises very important and pertinent questions about our climate and to be able to present it in such an iconic natural location as Brownsea Island offers a place where we can think about our impact locally and globally.”

Olivia Gruitt, Visitor Experience and Volunteering Manager at Brownsea Island, adds: “We’ve done a lot of engagement around the impact of climate change on Brownsea Island, especially around sea levels rising, and we’re pleased now to be shining a light on air quality.

“The National Trust is taking significant measures to reduce its carbon footprint but everyone has a role to play in this and we hope that this thought-provoking project will help people understand that the air we breathe needs protecting from excess pollutants.”

Visitors will pass through the five domes, moving from hot to cold climates, with no risk to their health but will have the sensation of breathing in toxic air which impacts millions of people.

Artist Michael Pinsky described the feeling of being inside the domes: “In the Pollution Pods, I have tried to distil the whole bodily sense of being in each place.

“For instance, being in São Paulo seems like a sanctuary compared to New Delhi, until your eyes start to water from the sensation of ethanol, whilst Tautra is unlike any air you’ll have ever breathed before, it is so pure.” 

60 local schools will visit the domes to learn more about environmental issues and actions to end climate change and students from Arts University Bournemouth will also be engaging with the installation and undertake several projects inspired by its placement on Brownsea Island.

Professor Mary Oliver, Dean of Media and Performance at AUB, said: “We will be using the pods to develop a range of work that is informed by the installation and its placement in an area rich in natural beauty.

“Our students will graduate into a world where continued polluting energy production has left our planet on the brink of serious irreversible damage. Art is one of the most resonant forms of communication and currently artists are playing a significant role in shaping the debate around climate change and what we can do to abate its harmful effects.”

Pollution Pods will be available to visit on Brownsea Island from Friday October 25 to Tuesday October 29. To plan your visit go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brownseaisland