El Tesoro (The
Treasure)
2005
Fake golden
chains, glass, pedestal & water
By Lucia
Pizzani
El
Tesoro
is an installation representing the problem of gold mining as an important
cause of water pollution and desertification in third world countries. As a Venezuelan
artists and environmentalist I have been very much involved in this. Mining not
only pollute the rivers with mercury and cyanide but clear huge areas of forest
that become useless land once the surface of the soil is removed.
The
use of gold and the obsession with jewels is often ignorant of the reality
behind it. ÒEach
of us may be unsuspectingly carrying on his or her wrists and fingers the
responsibility for several tons of churned up rainforest top-soil, for the
destruction of trees and habitatÓ[1].
The social reality is also terrible, in the mining towns prostitution and drugs
are everywhere and for the indigenous communities there has been conflicts with
land titles, displacements, killings and massive poisoning among other
problems.
The real
treasure is fresh and safe water
El Tesoro
2005
Cadenas
doradas, vaso, pedestal y agua
Lucia Pizzani
El
Tesoro
es una instalaci—n que toca el tema de la mineria del oro como una importante
causa de la contaminaci—n del agua y la desertificaci—n en los paises en v’as
de desarrollo. Como artista venezolana y ambientalista he estado muy
involucrada en esto. La miner’a no s—lo contamina los r’os con mercurio y
cianuro si no que tambiŽn desforesta grandes ‡reas de bosque que se convierten
en tierra inœtil una vez que es removida la capa vegetal superior.
El
uso del oro y la obsesi—n con las joyas es comœnmente ignorante de la realidad
que hay detr‡s. ÒCada uno de nosotros puede insospechadamente estar usando en
nuestra mu–eca o nuestros dedos la responsabilidad de muchas toneladas de capa
vegetal de la selva y la conseciuente
The use of gold and the obsession with jewels is often ignorant of the
reality behind it. ÒEach of us may be unsuspectingly carrying on his or her
wrists and fingers the responsibility for several tons of churned up rainforest
top-soil, for the destruction of trees and habitatÓ[2].
The social reality is also terrible, in the mining towns prostitution and drugs
are everywhere and for the indigenous communities there has been conflicts with
land titles, displacements, killings and massive poisoning among other
problems.
The real
treasure is fresh and safe water