Drawings > BLUE

“Two Rivers” and “Purple is the New Blue” were created after reading an article in the New York Times about the contaminated canal in Savar, Bangladesh. This is the city where the factory building collapsed earlier in April in 2013. Pollution and contamination of the water in this area are the result of heavy industry factories that ignore the environmental regulation and its’ consequences to make more profit. The water in the river is so contaminated that people can tell what color of dye is being used at a nearby dying plant by looking at the color of the river. Some days, it’s purple, and other days, it’s red or grey. Students at a nearby elementary school cannot concentrate, they feel dizzy and lightheaded, and they feel nausea from the polluted water and air.

Two Rivers
Two Rivers
Mineral pigment, pigment ink and tea on paper
42"x 60"
2013

Photo: Stewart Clements