Air pollution is a problem the whole world shares. Nowhere is it more evident than in Asia. Tiger Beer, in collaboration with MIT-spinoff Graviky Labs and agency Marcel Sydney, has found a way to turn pollution into something useful and remove quantities of it from the air – where it is not.

The solution is called Air-Ink, a range of pens, markers and spray cans made from air pollution.

The process that led to Air-Ink began with a question by Anirudh Sharma, founder of Graviky and former T35 MIT Innovator Of The Year, mirroring the one so many have asked, “Can we do anything about our city’s air pollution?”

The MIT technologist then decided to use creativity to find an answer. He developed a device that could capture soot from vehicles’ exhausts. With the support of Tiger Beer and Marcel, his invention was refined and the resulting devices were fitted to trucks, ferries, chimneys and even cranes around Hong Kong and India.

The captured pollutants were then purified and turned into safe, reliable ink for everyday use. Overall, 150 litres of Air-Ink has been produced so far, equal to approximately 2500 hours worth of typical diesel car emissions.

A range of Air-Ink products was then given to emerging Asian street artists such as Bao Ho, Caratoes, Xeme and Kristopher H, who used them to create spectacular murals and advertising on the streets of Hong Kong.

“It was important that the ink itself had to be a high-quality product that artists could use for real street art,” explained Scott Huebscher, executive creative director at Marcel Sydney. “Even the animations in our film were made with Air-Ink.”

“The streets are not only a great place to drink Tiger, they’re also the place where creativity, ideas and passion are born,” Mie-Leng Wong, director of international brands at Tiger Beer, Heineken Asia Pacific, noted

“By using our entrepreneurial spirit to repurpose pollution into ink – the lifeblood of creativity – we’re giving creative people the tools to enhance their streets, and empowering inventors like Anirudh to take small but impactful actions against air pollution.”

The initiative is part of Tiger Beer’s mission to inspire people to uncage the Tiger inside to take action for what they are passionate about. Tiger plans to launch more Air-Ink initiatives in other markets across Asia in 2017.

“The excitement about where Air-Ink can go – quite literally – tells me that we’re onto something potentially very big here,” David Nobay, founder of Marcel Sydney, commented.

“This was definitely a project of passion. It’s the perfect partnership between technology, art and the streets. It could only be achieved through the collaborative efforts of my team, the artists and a brave brand like Tiger Beer. I’m very proud of what we’ve created,” Sharma added.

Currently, Air-Ink is not commercially available but Tiger is working with Graviky Labs to manufacture more for future projects.

Campaign credits:

Client: Tiger Beer

Agency: Marcel Sydney

Production company: Goodoil Films
Director: Joel Kefali
Executive producer: Juliet Bishop
Technology partner: Graviky Labs
Technology director: Anirudh Sharma
Location Credits: Jacob’s Garage, Indusspray, Pavithra, 80 Edifice (Bengaluru, India) Producer: Andrew McLean
DoP: Lachlan Milne

Post production: Palace

Editor: Simon Njoo
Music producers: Juan Woodbury & Christine Bilich
Music company: Squeak E Clean Productions
Creative director (Music): Justin Hori
Sound design: Rumble
Song writers: Justin Hori & Alberto Mejia
Song: “Inked”