With road traffic, global trade and demand for flights declining drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic, French designer Nicolas Abdelkader proposed a bold new use for the world's fuel-burning vehicles: turning them into giant plantations, reported CNN.
In his new project "Emergency to Slow Down", the designer imagines a post-pandemic world in which airplanes, ships and cars are transformed into plants and trees.
Abdelkader, who digitally manipulated images while he was locked up in his home in Paris, says they were an objection to the slowdown in energy consumption. He hopes the images, which he describes as a "chimerical vision of a post-productivity society," will help viewers think about what kind of world we will return to after a pandemic.
"I wish people could question their current place in the world, their attitude towards nature and the impact of their decisions, especially on consumption and on biodiversity in general. Yes, planet Earth is sick. Yes, it is frightening. But to heal and heal us too, I believe we need more than ever joyful perspectives and positive messages to help us be creative collectively," he said via email.
In May, passenger demand for flights was down 91% previous year, according to the International Air Transport Association. Due to reduced vehicle use and industrial activity, the decline in pollution has dropped dramatically in recent months, and satellite images show a sharp drop in nitric oxide levels in industrial areas around the world.
Abdelkader envisions the unused vehicles transformed into massive incubators featuring different kinds of plants and gardens erupting from open metal structures. Other edited images show trees and shrubs protruding from container ships, sports cars, trucks, tanks, and even SpaceX rockets.
"I think I've stored a deep anger at the lifestyle based on production and consumption, which have become the main means by which we create our own sense of value," the designer said.