Taras Yoom Unveils Fans Representing the Impact of Global Warming
Both play on the design of a thermometer.
As summer nears, multidisciplinary designer Taras Yoom wants you to think about global warming when you’re cooling down in front of the AC. Working across sculpture, design, art and furniture, Yoom’s latest creations, two standing fans for the home, serve to epitomize his diverse spectrum of mediums, as well as his penchant for conceptualizing the human condition.
The Obelisk Fan imitates a giant thermometer sticking out of the ground, made out of metal, plastic and glass. The base of the square encasing of the fan melts into the floor while an actual thermometer contained within the fan shows the real current temperature.
The top of Thermometer Fan appears more typical but quietly boasts an interpretive backstory: the blades of the fan were left out in the Sun and melted, giving it an oozy effect. This fan also contains metal and plastic, as well as chrome, and the base of the fan similarly mimics a thermometer.
Yoom says that he was provoked to create the fans after 2023 was reported to be the hottest year on record. Based in Bangkok himself, the artist is particularly concerned about the rising temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and glacial melting, noting that “nearly a third of UNESCO World Heritage sites’ glaciers will melt within the next 30 years.”
