Cool Hunting

Known for his headline-grabbing, large-scale public interventions—like the one in which he placed giant PET bottles along the Tiete River in São Paulo to make a point about the notoriously filthy waterway—Brazilian artist Eduardo Srur's latest campaign, "Sobrevivencia" (survival) is irreverent but nonetheless carries a sincere message.

Using a ladder, nylon, stuffing and rope, he's decked out dozens of statues around the city in bright orange life jackets and life savers, an action that could be interpreted by passers-by as a college student prank, especially the ones where fountains spewing water are part of the display.

Anything but a joke, it's actually his statement about the need for the public to rescue the decaying, neglected stone and bronze figures who represent important politicians in Brazil's history and are at risk at falling progressively farther and farther away from relevancy if they are not saved.

Srur's action was approved by the city government, though it's strange they haven't found the issue important enough in the past few years to find the funds to maintain the memory of their former colleagues themselves.