Sunday, August 29, 2010

Prognosis for Gaia's Plastic Surgery

Oil and plastic garbage on hard board
120 X 180 cm

This piece is a triptych, the first panel is an oil painting of the shore line, as seen in the piece Commingling. The second panel is made from 13mm discs of plastic cut from plastic rubbish found on so many beaches all around the world. The arrival of this rubbish partly obscures the scene. While the third panel is constructed from 0.5 mm discs. It suggests that as the rubbish degrades we become less aware of it. However it is very much there affecting the environment, with largely unknown consequences. Hence the name referring to the hidden nature of the problem. Just because the plastic breaks up and becomes less noticeable this doesn't necessarily mean that the chemicals gradually released into our oceans will go without leaving their mark. 'Prognosis' was an attempt to represent this visually.