What you see here looks like an ordinary can of Coca-Cola. But it’s not. The Undrinkable Coca-Cola Can is sealed and impossible to open so that you can’t drink In protest at the global brand, anonymous creative collective QSTNMRK? has created the very first Undrinkable Can to raise awareness of the shocking environmental and personal health damages allegedly caused by Coca-Cola. The project involves producing a limited edition of 1500 custom-made cans, each containing Coca-Cola and sealed permanently, making them impossible to open. Each can, priced based on its sequential order and adorned with a unique display case number, contains the standard 39g of sugar found in a typical Coca-Cola, highlighting issues of consumption and consequence.
The CC logo is one of the most recognisable brand identities in the world and the world’s most-sold drink too But with this satirical art project, the Undrinkable Can confronts the viewers with the naked truth behind the brand. Once the legendary design is stripped away, what’s left is an empty, sugar-laden product that QSTNMRK? calls the symbol of climate criminality. The project made its debut in Zona Maco, the largest art fair in Latin America.
The art cans were sold at the fair: the first can was sold for $1, the second can for $2, the third for $3….The QSTNMRK team implicate’s Coca-Cola for its role in exacerbating plastic pollution, contributing to the increase in diabetes rates, and worsening water scarcity. In addition to its artistic message, the project takes a bold financial stance by shorting Coca-Cola’s stock on Nasdaq. A bold fusion of art and activism.
