In the future, the air we breathe may be voice-altering and about eight times heavier than today. Sydney artist Emily Parsons-Lord, who mixes compound gases to allow audiences to taste our greenhouse gas-infused future, explains: “Future air is so heavy that when you breathe it in it is an air that operates quite a lot like a liquid.”
Not surprisingly, breathing the clean, fresh-tasting and oxygenrich air of the Carboniferous period (300 to 350 million years ago when giant insects with wingspans of 65 centimetres flew about) feels energising. “It is really good for hangovers,” Parsons-Lord adds.
Signalling the need for urgent change, a 2022 report by the World Health
