A Beijing artist went home from his France visit with a glass jar filled with fresh air. Will you buy it for $860?
Liang Kegang placed his jar of clean Provence air for auction last month with about a hundred Chinese artists and collectors bidding for it. Its final price? Someone took it home for $860, according to People.
The auction ended on March 30 and it was Li Yongzheng, an entrepreneur bidding the highest, who took the jar of Provence air home, The Star reports.
The artist's work is in line with the highly talked about air quality in China becoming poorer through time. The country's harmful pollutants are claimed by the World Health Organization to be dangerous to the populace's health. People reports that China's growing air quality problem has even triggered the selling of products that can help minimize its harmful effects like air purifiers and the dust masks for the daily commuters.
Liang's jar of fresh air seems to be not for monetary gains though, as he claims it is actually a form of protest. "This is my way to question China's foul air and express my dissatisfaction," the Independent UK quotes Liang statement on the increasing number of pollutants in Beijing's air.
His jar contribution is sealed with rubber along with a flip top. It also has three handwritten labels with the co-ordinates of and the name Foralquier which is a French village; one saying "Air in Provence, France" in French; and one with his signature in Chinese and the date 29 March, notes the Independent UK.
Officials from Beijing's top environmental protection team are now considering various air controls that were also implemented during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Independent UK adds. The outlet says that these could include controlling traffic through license plate numbers and even shutting down some construction projects.