This series is an homage to the albatross; by collecting stray plastic to make this work it’s no longer destructive to the animals who share the shoreline with me. I, too, am attracted by strange and beautiful debris. In this way, the albatross and I are alike.
In 2018, I began an exploration of our relationship with plastic. I’m interested in creating subtle responses to plastic, using plastic. I hope this work encourages contemplation of our inter-relationships – with one another, our world (plastic, birds and trees included), and with what we consume and how we consume it. In addition, there’s an element of the work that is about accident; how the plastic we find is lost by people, taken by wind, strewn on shore, left degrading in the arms of trees.
Many birds choose plastic debris for its beauty; the albatross is a powerful bird that is threatened by the existence of plastic. Adults feed their chicks bits of plastic they find at sea and, as a result, the young starve to death. Alongside an overwhelming sense of guilt and concern about this I identify strongly with the albatross who sees shining, beautiful things and mistakes them for nourishment.
I am dedicated to continuing to document and explore the beauty and tragedy of our relationship with plastic and in doing so contemplate the connection between the mistakes the birds make to those of our own.
Single use topography (3)
Single use plastic bags and thread on paper
5” x 8”
(2019)
SOLD
Single use topography (2)
Single use plastic bags and thread on paper
8” x 14”
(2019)
SOLD
Single use topography (2)
Single use plastic bags and thread on paper
11.5” x 26”
(2019)
SOLD
Jessica harvesting plastic scraps from the fence around a local construction site. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Platic bag tapestry
Experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together. 6’ x 4’.
Single use tapestry
Detail of experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together.
Detail of experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together.
Photo: Paul David Esposti
Beach garbage collected from the lakeshore in Etobicoke.
Lines and circles
Single use plastic bags and reclaimed house-paint on plexiglass
24” x 24”
(2019)
SOLD
For the albatross
Beach debris and reclaimed house-paint on plexiglass
11” x 38”
(2019)
SOLD
Single use topography (4)
Single-use plastic bags, thread and reclaimed house-paint on paper
12” x 30”
(2019)
SOLD
Plastic archipelago
Reclaimed house-paint on plexiglass
20” x 24”
(2019)
SOLD
Jessica Hiemstra harvesting plastic from a tree in her neighbourhood. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Song for a hungry whale
Single use plastic bags and reclaimed house-paint on plexiglass
12” x 48”
(2019)
SOLD
Photo of bags caught in fence around local construction site (Etobicoke). Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Deatail of single use plastic bag tapestry
Detail of experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together.
Detail of experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail of experimenting with recycled house-paint and single-use plastic bags sewn together.
Plastic bag caught in fence
Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
Detail
Single use plastic and reclaimed house-paint. Photo: Paul David Esposti.
