【Watch Playboy Wet & Wild 4 (1992)】

SHENZHEN,Watch Playboy Wet & Wild 4 (1992) Guangdong -- Last month, Chinese artist Gu Wenda led 1,500 schoolchildren in Shenzhen to paint 1,500 square meters of rice paper with algae water.

In a modern riff of traditional “qinglu shanshui” landscape painting -- especially popular in the Qing and Ming dynasties -- the project aimed to highlight China’s toxic algae blooms.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable SEE ALSO: After China, a Canadian company plans to sell India bottled air from the Rocky Mountains

China has struggled with algae blooms for the past decade. Caused by industrial run-off, they have severely compromised the health of the lakes and rivers and the people who depend on these bodies of water. In some cases, people have been left without drinking water for days.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

Just this summer, Qingdao, a port city in eastern Shandong, experienced an algae invasion of over 58,000 hectares. According to a 2014 report, 28 percent of rivers are so toxic that they aren’t even suitable for agricultural use. Thirty-eight out of 71 rivers are unsuitable for humans to touch, according to a report by the State Oceanic Administration of China.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

“My algae paintings are symbolic of a green China,” Gu says, referring to the color of the algae. “Over the last 30 to 40 years, after senior leader Deng Xiaoping’s Open Door policy, China has vastly grown its economy and international production. This has damaged certain rivers and lakes, causing algae blooms because of chemical run-offs. This is the concern of everybody today.”

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

For the artwork titled “Verdant Mountains, Emerald Waters", corporate sponsor Ping An Insurance donated 1 million RMB ($148,000) to provide drinking water to schools in rural poor areas in China.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Gu says he chose to involve children in his project with the hopes of inspiring them to get into art in the future.

“Contemporary art in China is an import from the West. It is not yet mainstream today,” Gu says. “So when I have kids participate, the hope is that the future of contemporary art is going to be mainstream.”

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

'Not an activist'

Gu, a multimedia artist who got his start in the 1980s, is known for his creative use of materials. His multi-year project “United Nations” used hair from hundreds of people to weave into illegible text. His project “2000 Natural Deaths” used sanitary napkins and tampons as a medium.

Although he is cut from the same cloth as Ai Weiwei, who also got his start in the 1980s, Gu doesn't identify as an activist. In past interviews, he has described himself as a peacemaker whose main goal is to unify.

“This algae problem is not that controversial because it is already exposed in the government television and government newspaper. It’s already in people’s minds,” he says.

Gu is currently including the children’s work into a complete piece, which will eventually be displayed in a Shanghai art gallery in November.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

• Science
• Digital Culture
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Games
• Life
• Deals
• Social Good

• Best grocery deal: Spend $20 and get $5 off at Amazon
• Melania Trump bought her own dress for Republican National Convention
• Alleged burglar uses 'Pokémon Go' as excuse, police are not impressed
• 10 video games we can't wait to escape with this fall
• Best Sony headphones deal: Over $100 off Sony XM5 headphones
• Here's how to choose between the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max
• 50 things we want from the Republican National Convention
• Bob Woodward's Trump book is bad, boring, and bogus
• NYT Connections hints and answers for May 10: Tips to solve 'Connections' #699.
• Viola Davis regrets starring in 'The Help' for deeply personal reasons

• Woody Allen memoir dropped by Hachette Book Group
• Injecting this sensor under your skin could prevent future pandemics
• Oxford University Press plans to update its definition for 'woman'
• What we learned from Netflix's 'Love Is Blind' experiment
• International Women's Day marches around the world: Photos
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps: One of the best platformers of all time
• VSCO's Montage lets you create video collages
• Mike Bloomberg is out. But he's still meme
• Here's 'The Office' cold open Jenna Fischer thinks is as good as 'Fleabag'
• Tess Holliday calls out fat

• Best Apple TV+ deal: Get 3 months for $2.99 monthly
• Geoffrey Owens lands TV roles, after being job shamed
• Norm Macdonald's #MeToo drags gets him booted from 'The Tonight Show'
• How iPhone XS compares to Pixel 2, Galaxy S9, and Huawei P20 Pro
• NYT Strands hints, answers for May 5
• Apple debuts Apple Watch Series 4 with edge
• Mark Zuckerberg explains how Facebook is fighting election meddling
• Apple will release macOS Mojave on September 24. Here’s what's coming.
• The State of PC Gaming in 2016
• Apple unveils iPhone XS and massive iPhone XS Max

• LA Galaxy vs. Tigres 2025 livestream: Watch Concacaf Champions Cup for free
• In 'Assassin's Creed Odyssey,' choices really matter
• Justin Bieber refuses to hug fans in favor of checking out luxury sweatpants
• Cryptocurrency market cap shrinks to $186 billion
• NYT Connections hints and answers for May 1: Tips to solve 'Connections' #690.
• Bob Woodward's Trump book is bad, boring, and bogus
• The world's oldest human drawing is a hashtag
• Kim Kardashian Snapchatted Kanye West's phone call to Taylor Swift
• Inside the Murky Process of Getting Games on Steam
• 7 video games for people who don't like guns