06 July 2010
Chris Jordan is a nationally acclaimed artist who has taken his role of photographer to extremes - the extremes of our culture's waste and consumption that is. His latest project involves documenting the atrocities that disposable plastics have on the albatross within the Midway Atoll, also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch of the North Pacific Gyre. See his photos in a musical slideshow titled Midway: Message from the Gyre.
These amazing photos show plastic where stomachs and intestines should be. The sense of grief and sorrow is palpitating.
From a common objects perspective, Jordan's series "Running the Numbers" depicts the extensive consumerism and social degradation of our culture through abstract images composed of many multiples of singular objects. For instance, "320,000 light bulbs, equal to the number of kilowatt hours of electricity wasted in the United States every minute from inefficient residential electricity usage (inefficient wiring, computers in sleep mode, etc.)" depicted in a composite of the night sky.
Artworks from Alchemical's TTP most often take this form, abstract or inventive rather than Jordan's documentarian approach of Midway Atoll. . . .
Janice Wyatt's Trash Transformer Project artwork "Fighting the Tide of Trash with You" is not only gorgeous and mesmerizing to look at, it is also a model for a better way.
According to Janice, this piece is a "scale model of the over-arching design to create a large mural depicting a natural setting... My ultimate goal is to have murals set up at schools and grocery stores (as well as other public locations) alongside bins to receive the recyclable materials. . .It would be great for people to be able to add to the artwork themselves as they choose to dispose of recyclables at the site.".
Janice says it's all about "stewardship and showing what a difference each of our little bits make when combined together. For the most part people are unaware or complacent about how dangerous and chronic, yet fixable, our problem is." And she points to education as a way to make a lasting change.
The TTP artworks are just one small attempt at that, but a fun one to be sure. Janice's piece uses materials such as easter grass, soft drink lids, aluminum can tabs, reused cardboard from packaging, beverage six-pack plastic rings, used dryer sheets, and a used wooden pallet. Come see all the artworks in person and learn how everyday materials can be turned into beautiful creations instead of ending up in a hole in the ground.
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