What colour will you choose to pollute yourself with this season?
The work brings urgent attention to the reckless exploitation of water resources by the fast fashion industry. Every year, more than 39,000 tonnes of discarded clothing are dumped in Chile’s Atacama Desert, turning one of the world’s driest landscapes into a sprawling waste site.
These mountains of unsold garments, created through water-intensive production and dyeing processes, reveal the severe environmental consequences of fast fashion. Textile production accounts for around 20% of global water waste and 10% of yearly carbon emissions. Producing a single cotton T-shirt requires approximately 2,700 litres of water.
The installation in public space features illuminated water containers arranged in a colour logic reminiscent of a Rubik’s Cube. The colourful surface becomes a metaphor for the enormous water consumption and pollution tied to garment dyeing, challenging viewers to reconsider the environmental cost of their fashion choices.
Project Information
Artists: k.ada / Javier Viana
Title: ATACAMA FASHION
Year: 2024 / 2025
Category: public-space installation / light installation / environmental art
Location: Public space, Algeciras, Spain / Künstlerhaus, Wien, Austria
Materials: water containers, light, colour, textile context, public space
Photography: Javier Viana / k.ada / María Moncada
