This art ‘king’ sways city to Turn Off The Plastic Tap

CHENNAI: ‘KING’ Gowtham is how the city-based artiste and impressionist likes to be called, claiming his crown in the art kingdom. Known as the founder of ‘Walk for Plastic’ initiative, the artiste recently created ‘Turn Off The Plastic Tap’ instalment, which stood tall with glory on the Pattinapakkam beach, attracting the public to a thought provoking change. 

“This initiative is a step closer towards reaching my dream of a sustainable environment. I first got to know about this instalment from the amazing works of Benjamin Von Wong, a Canadian artiste and activist, who had created a Giant Plastic Tap at the United Nations, for discussions around a Global Plastic Treaty at UN Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Working towards the same objective, I knew my city needed to see this, but through my eyes,” says Gowtham, desiring more Indian artistes to come forward, directing their creative capabilities to the betterment of the ecosystem.

Turn Off The Plastic Tap, installed on July 26, is made with 25 kilograms of plastic waste, which the impressionist curated during his Walk for Plastic initiative. Steffi Lemke, Minister of the Environment, Natural Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, during her visit to Chennai for the G20 summit, also graced her presence to support the artiste’s initiative.

 “The installation was created for the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management at Anna University, where it resides now. The main aim of the Turn Off The Plastic Tap initiative is to educate people on the adverse effects of plastics which pollute our surroundings, especially water bodies and marine life. We, as responsible citizens, need to end plastic pollution, starting from mindless consumption of plastic products, to mindless production of single use plastic by producers and industries.” emphasises King Gowtham, describing how members of the German Consulate were astonished to see artistes from India creating such sustainable artworks.

The artiste isn’t done depicting his side of the story, creating awareness on sustainability, and is working on cloth and electronic waste management, which he strongly believes will bring about a change in the minds of the people who have a strong will towards a greener ecosystem.