Our Plastic Planet

    Plastic, noun, a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, nylon, etc., that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form. This definition of plastic is the one I’ve chosen to develop into two hanging sculpture. This project was formed over my instinctive idea of plastic. As I collected an abundance of distinct plastic items, I began to place them on a sphere, or in this case, a soccer ball. Once placing and attaching each item to the sphere, I smeared and splattered acrylic paint globs, which is a form of plastic, to add dimension and depth. 

    The soccer ball represents Earth and the plastic items represent themselves in the pollution epidemic. By covering the ball with this material, I’ve created an exaggerated depiction of my idea of what our planet will look like in decades from now. The glow from the decorative lights represent future tears in the ozone layer that will come about if we as a whole do not put an end to pollution. 

As a next step to this project, I’d like to paint smaller depictions of a unified collection of plastics on top of the three dimension collection of plastic that is covered in white. Other directions I would take include making my own collection. This collection would consist of photos of plastic collectors. I would like to photograph bottle collectors around food markets who are naturally looking for spare change. Afterwards, I’d plan on learning their story and attaching it to the image. I’d like to tell the story of the world, the story of us.

DoC: January 12, 2018