Statistically, nine out of ten people worldwide are exposed to high levels of air pollutants that lead to serious health problems. The simple act of breathing results in early deaths for millions of people, and harms billions more. In fact, since the end of 2018, the WHO has dubbed air pollution the “new tobacco”, while the EU is calling it the “biggest environmental risk” to public health.

Eat, Breathe, Pray is our project that shines light on the issue. We created a series of “gourmet” dishes made with common pollutants.

The dishes were photographed and the visuals were subsequently spread over social media, together with the full “recipe”. The main message being: if we had to eat what we breathe, we might be more keen on supporting urgent anti-pollution policies.

Fine Acts produced the project for Greenpeace Bulgaria and For the Earth Foundation, fuelling their campaigning efforts to introduce measures to curb pollution in Bulgaria, the country with the most polluted air in the EU.

The initial concept came from our 2017 Labs edition tackling climate change and pollution, when Juliana Tekova, a Bulgarian artist, and Stefan Valentinov, а technologist, devised a way to make pollution visible. Fine Acts collaborated with Master Chef Bulgaria winner Sevda Dimitrova, who was the culinary genius behind the foul meals. The photographs are by the acclaimed Bulgarian photographer Radina Gancheva.  

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ACT Labs are unique events that explore the intersection of human rights, art and technology, and develop a range of solutions - from immersive art pieces to apps with a strong art component. In Labs, teams of artists and technologists work together over a weekend to prototype ideas that raise awareness or provide solutions for a specific problem. A judging panel then awards the best ideas.