Keep cool 2016
With its 3x3x3 meters ‘Keep Cool’ demands its space, outsizing its human audience – a palm-sized Rubik’s cube enlarged to new dimensions, a problem to be solved, a riddle made of first generation Saudi Arabian air conditioner units, the Desert Cooler boxes. The work immediately poses a challenge; can the cube be reorganized into sides of the same color as you would try with a normal sized Rubik’s cube? Can the Coolers be shifted to make sense?
Painted in colors derived from the original Rubik’s cube but tweaked to harmonize with the sun exposed colors of the Arabian Desert, the installation inscribes itself in a Saudi Arabian context, as well as in a global discussion of energy consumption through the use of the Desert Cooler boxes. Today, in a world where climate change is a reality, Saudi Arabia spends 52% of its energy consumption on air conditioners. The Desert Coolers marked the foundation of modern Saudi Arabian cities by making it more comfortable to stay indoors in the heat. By cooling air through the evaporation of water, the Desert Coolers used significantly less energy than the AC systems known today, still, their usage of water posed a problem in a nation with sparse water reserves. An ideal solution to the country’s environmental challenge is still to be found.
A glimpse of the inside of the cube reveals a complex, almost messy interior, speaking of a different reality than the cool logic needed to solve a Rubik’s cube. Even though a constant spinning of the cube is essential to reach a satisfactory result, the harsh reality of hidden agendas complicate the matter. Leaving a cleaner world for the next generations is no simple task.
A way forward could be; yes, maybe the cube can be rearranged to make sense, but the mere size of the installation indicates that it is not a task a single person could carry out, it would take collaboration and effort.
