Living Map | Catalytic Clothing
Living Map | Catalytic Clothing
On July 6th 2011, the Catalytic Clothing campaign was launched via the Catclo film. A global conversation began. Living Map tracked real time engagement with the project across the world. Living Map illustrates the international online engagement of the project, tracking 3 months of public response across 147 countries.
Catalytic Clothing Project
Catalytic Clothing seeks to explore how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify air, employing existing technology in a new way. It is the brainchild of Prof. Helen Storey and chemist Tony Ryan.
Between 2011 and 2016 Catalytic Clothing explored the use of an existing nano technology in an entirely new context. The project combined the power of science and art to tackle a global challenge: Air pollution. Air pollution causes the deaths of between 28,000 – 36,000 people per year according to Public Health England, 2019.
Applying an air-purifying photocatalyst to textiles and clothing explored the possibility that each of us can actively contribute to improving the quality of the air we breathe as we go about our daily lives. The efficacy of the technology is only apparent when mass adoption is achieved and so Catalytic Clothing uses art and design to inspire the citizen action that is needed to realise the potential that science offers. It was first proposed as a laundry additive to radicalise existing wardrobes of clothes.
Catalytic Clothing was conceived by artist/designer Prof. Helen Storey and chemist Tony Ryan – people from very different disciplines whose shared values and inquisitive minds came together to create a number of highly acclaimed art/science collaborations.
