The Art of Imagination and Innovation | Arun Kumar HG | TEDxCambridgeSchoolSrinivaspuri

Introduction and Background

• The artist, Arun Kumar HG, is from Shimoga in the Western Ghats of Southern India, a place that has inspired him to be an artist. (19s)
• With 30 years of experience as a practicing artist, he believes that art is powerful, stimulates the creative faculties of the mind, empowers, and inspires. (58s)
• Over the last 150 years, art has inspired the industry to develop new materials, which in turn have inspired artists, but this has now reached a saturation point. (1m50s)
• The artist was initially inspired by new materials and techniques but now feels that it is too much and too dangerous for the future, leading him to think about going back to the materials created in the past. (2m52s)

Working with Discarded Materials

• He has been working with discarded materials that are abundant in the world, which has led him to question and think about the waste around us. (3m30s)

The 100-Year-Old Water Tank Project

• One of his artworks involves transforming a 100-year-old water tank into a public art project, which was achieved by splitting it into eight parts with minimal intervention. (4m27s)
• The artist aimed to retain the history of the water tank, which had contained water for 100 years, and incorporated this element into the artwork. (5m14s)
• The water tank was cut into pieces, and an idea was built around it, with water being the main element, to create a public art project that showcases the history and significance of the water tank. (6m22s)

Minimizing Resource Input and Reusing Materials

• The creation of excessive stuff and the use of vast resources have led to a realization of the importance of minimizing resource input, driving innovation with minimal resource usage (6m33s).
• Inspiration is drawn from used resources such as scrap metal and scrap bricks to create art, promoting the idea of reusing and recycling materials (7m1s).

Water as a Crucial Element and "EOS of Water"

• The theme of water is highlighted as a crucial element for life on Earth, with the ecosystem having a natural mechanism to keep it clean, but human actions have polluted it in a short span of time (7m22s).
• An artwork called "EOS of water" was created using a scrap water tank, collecting water from the atmosphere, and representing the importance of water conservation and the sacredness of water in human ceremonies (8m56s).
• The artwork serves as a reminder of the importance of each drop of water and the need to keep it clean for the entire ecosystem, with the message being conveyed in a public art space in Madhya Pradesh (10m31s).

The Water Bottle Project

• Another art project was inspired by the excessive use of water bottles, highlighting the issue of waste and the importance of thinking about the origin and disposal of materials (10m59s).
• The art project led to a personal practice of avoiding the use of water bottles and promoting a lifestyle that reminds individuals of their environmental impact (12m30s).

The Bottle Top Project: "Droppings and the Dam"

• The amount of waste produced has increased significantly over the past 30 years, with a substantial amount of it being plastic waste, such as bottle tops (12m46s).
• An artist collected around 150,000 bottle tops in five months from the housekeeping staff of their society, which has about 600 families, to create an artwork (13m55s).
• The collected bottle tops were used to create an artwork that highlights the issue of waste management and the impact of plastic waste on the environment (14m19s).
• The artwork, titled "Droppings and the Dam," was exhibited at a sculpture event in Denmark, where it was displayed next to the sea to emphasize its connection to marine life (16m9s).
• The artwork features bottle tops segregated by color, with blue colors representing water bottles and red colors representing other types of bottles (16m24s).

The "Toxic Chamber" Project

• Another artwork, titled "Toxic Chamber," was created to raise awareness about the massive amount of waste produced, with only 10% of it being recycled (17m18s).
• "Toxic Chamber" was part of a public art project and featured a chamber that people could enter to see the size of the waste produced by one person in 10 years (17m48s).
• The artwork aims to make people conscious of their consumption habits and the impact of their actions on the environment (17m27s).

Raising Awareness and Displaying Artworks

• The artist runs a center in W Kataka, where the artwork "Droppings and the Dam" is displayed, and aims to raise awareness about the importance of waste management and recycling (16m50s).

The Trash Landscape Project

• A message is conveyed through an artwork made from plastic waste, highlighting the issue of plastic usage and disposal (18m15s).
• The artwork is made from trash, aiming to make the issue more personal and raise awareness about individual responsibility in producing and discarding waste (18m58s).
• A table setting is used to display the artwork, symbolizing the everyday use of plastic and the need to manage waste effectively (19m11s).
• The table setting features a landscape made from trash, representing the conversion of pristine landscapes into dumping sites, such as those found in Delhi (19m47s).
• The artwork is covered in cement dust, removing the identity and size relation of the objects, and creating a miniature representation of the world we have created (20m21s).
• The artwork serves as a reminder that innovation is only useful when it is good for the Earth and ecosystem (21m1s).

Conclusion: Responsible Innovation and Waste Management

• The importance of responsible innovation and waste management is emphasized, highlighting the need for a more sustainable approach (21m5s).
• The current state of plastic waste is alarming, with only 9% being recycled and 91% of unknown disposal (18m43s).