Free art for free air

What the heck is that?

That was the thought I had upon seeing the huge mural being painted on the wall running the southbound EDSA lane just before Pasong Tamo in Makati.

In shades of green painted on white were weirdly oversized depictions of flowers, cross-section of cells, and one upturned crab. The word “GANAP” was emblazoned on the painting. Meanwhile, at the EDSA-Cubao underpass, a pipework depiction snaked on the right-hand wall on the Quezon City-bound lane.

These two public works of art are apparently two of the eight-part Boysen KNOxOUT Project: EDSA, said to be the “world’s first large-scale public art project using paints that can clean noxious air pollutants.”

A team-up of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, 11 noted Filipino artists have been conscripted to conceptualize eight large visual artworks in designated areas on the 24-kilometer stretch of EDSA. Curating the collection is TAO, Inc.

You’re correct in asking how these murals are supposed to make the air we breathe cleaner. Well, Boysen says its unique KNOxOUT product, which contains titanium dioxide, converts toxic NOx (nitrogen oxides) into “harmless substances in an environmentally safe manner through photocatalysis.”

Regular EDSA travelers must surely recall that Boysen field-tested the KNOxOUT on, among other locations around the world, the Guadalupe MRT station.

Findings reported by the Manila Observatory (known for being the “oldest scientific research institute” and a “leading authority on air quality studies” in the country) and Conexor, a Swedish environmental project management company, confirmed the paint’s ability to reduce NOx. It was “conservatively estimated” that the paint on the outside walls of the aforementioned train station cleaned the equivalent exhaust of over 30,000 vehicles daily.

The eight artworks, each roughly measuring 1,000 square meters (each square meter of KNOxOUT paint can reportedly clean emissions from 10 vehicles), are conceptualized by the following:

Jose Tence Ruiz, social realist painter, graphic designer, and political cartoonist (who made the San Lorenzo, Makati mural);

Asuncion “Baby” Imperial and Damien “Coco” Anne of Manila-based graphic design studio B+C (Ortigas mural);

Brisbane-based partners Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan;

Multi-awarded art department of the TBWA advertising agency;

France-trained painter and printmaker Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado;

Japanese-American Neal Oshima, who has lived in the Philippines for more than 30 years;

Dutch-Indonesian, London-based artist and curator Erika Tan;

London-based architects Tapio Snellman and Christian Grou, who founded and own the practice named Neutral (Aurora mural).

Expect the other murals to spring up in the next few months. Boysen envisions helping turn EDSA into a “showcase for art, at the same time using the newest scientific innovations to improve the air quality along Metro Manila’s main artery.”

What say you, darn vandals?

More importantly, this is a good private-public sector partnership to address the distressing report that Metro Manila has the fourth most polluted air among major cities in the world – pollution that causes a distressing 5,000 avoidable deaths a year.

Bravo, Boysen. We are looking forward to more gallons of that blessed paint to cover more of the Metro.

* * *

What a racket. Some security guards manning the Makati Cinema Square mall were caught red-handed running a scam to extort hapless motorists making the mistake of parking “illegally” in its basement parking facility. One of my friends who regularly bowls at the SuperBowl center on the third floor of the mall had parked her vehicle at one such spot simply because the basement parking was full. Furthermore, a guard had suggested her to park there. I must also make mention that her vehicle wasn’t obstructing traffic flow. So all was supposed to be fine and dandy, right?

Definitely not. After paying for the customary parking fee at the parking lot booth, the teller additionally told her she had to shell out a whopping P500 for “illegal parking.” Sure enough, parking guards converged at her car to harass her. They even blocked the vehicle’s path with a big steel barrier. My feisty friend stood her ground and insisted that another guard had even suggested she do so that fateful night. Where was she supposed to park if they had let her in already? Livid with rage, she asked to talk to their supervisor.

The smug guards disappeared momentarily, then fetched a Makati cop (must have thought they could scare her into submission). Wrong move; my friend is a City Hall employee and is well aware of her rights. After hearing the tale, the policeman then told the guards that what they were doing could be considered harassment. To cut a long story short, my pal pressed charges against the guards.

So let this tale be a warning for you all. Always be aware of your rights, and never be bullied by extortionists in uniform – whether public or private ones. And to mall owners, always take care of your mall goers. They give you loyalty and a good living. The least you could do is to assure their safety while making sure the people who work for you have their best interests at heart.