Pollution is Beautiful by Nuwan Shilpa Hennayake

Ever since I first saw them, I have been fascinated by the beauty of the phenomena of thin-film interference—the iridescent display of swirling colors resulting from the simultaneous reflection and refraction of light when oil and water interact with each other.

Yet, one day, while taking delight in the spectacular beauty of a tiny oil slick by the side of the road, it unraveled itself as something beyond mere beauty; there seemed to be a deep sense of pure irony embedded within it. I have always held aesthetics in high regard and have advocated art as the salvation and redemption of humanity. However, I could not come to terms with the contradiction that a blob of pollution could produce such beauty.

Pollution is Beautiful is both a statement and a self-reflective thought on what beauty is and where it might reside.

3780 x 2160 | 24 fps | 11 seconds | .mp4