Con l’acqua alla gola by Marco Oggian | Blu Art in Rome’s 1st municipality

Funded by regional funds, the “Blu Art - i colori dell’aria” (Blu Art - the colors of the air) project is one of the measures with which the city administration aims to combat air pollution while enhancing the city’s streets and squares through art, with urban redevelopment projects involving all of the city’s municipalities.

Jungle communications agency selected five artists (Marco Oggian, ScombinAnto, Serena Gianoli, GeometricBang, and Elisabetta Vedovato) to create street art on pavements using water-based paints produced from recycled raw materials. A non-toxic compound applied to the surface helps improve air quality by absorbing pollutants (including fine and ultrafine particulate matter such as PM10, PM2.5, and PM0.5). The color palette used is reminiscent of environmental maps showing air pollution levels.

Marco Oggian’s work “Con l’acqua alla gola” was inaugurated in the first municipality, in Via Nicola Zebaglia (in Testaccio), at the end of October 2025. It is a negative but ironic representation of the times we are living in. The black water and colors indicating the highest concentration of pollution and harmful substances in the air are gradually advancing towards the neck of the giant human being, representing the entire population. The work covers an area of 93 square meters: a surface area of 100 square meters treated with “smog-eating” paint is capable of absorbing a quantity of CO₂ and polluting particulates equal to that of over 30 mature trees.

Born in Venice in 1990, Marco Oggian is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. He often uses simple shapes and bright colors to highlight critical, controversial and social issues. His works have been published in more than 40 books on design, branding, illustration and typography and some projects are exhibited in galleries in cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Milan, Turin, Seoul and Tokyo.