Could cell towers and cell phones emerge as the next health concern?
Size: 225cm*20cm*20cm
Method: Sculpture
Medium(s): Cigarette Boxes, Pipe and Wire
An article by Peter Elkind entitled, "How the FCC Shields Cellphone Companies From Safety Concerns," served as the inspiration for this project. While there are those that would swear there is nothing to fear from cell phones or 5G, the Elkind article makes a strong enough case to make one pause.
Elkind argues that there is growing evidence of harm from cellphones, citing everything from effects on fertility and fetal development to associations with cancer, all of which have been downplayed in the United States. The article reminded me of "The Seven Dwarves," when back in April of 1994, seven top tobacco CEOs testified to Congress that they didn’t believe nicotine was addictive.
Could cell towers and cell phones emerge as the next health concern? It's hard to say given the small sample size and time associated with this phenomenon. But there was enough compelling evidence in the article to persuade me to make a cell phone tower out of cigarette boxes. The three dimensional tower is constructed with an antenna and remote radio heads. The work is conceptually based and draws a parallel to an earlier time when there was only suspicion surrounding tobacco companies. This begs the question... Are we truly safe or is it only matter of time before there's a paradigm shift?
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