Scientific collaborators: Dora Mehn, Jessica Ponti, Marisa Sarria Pereira De Passos & Andrea Valsesia
Plastic Magnitudes is a community-specific, immersive art installation illuminating research from the Joint Research Centre Commission on plastic particulates and their potential threat to humans as they enter the food chain as microplastics and nanoplastics.
Inspired by the flow of plastic particulates through water supply systems and the digestive tracts of mussels, the installation juxtaposes visual imagery from plastic particulate research laboratories with images of environmental plastics.
The physical materials in the installation are constructed from the fusion of repurposed sheet plastic and marine plastic debris, collected during community clean-ups in County Clare and County Galway, Ireland. The plastic was fused with community members during numerous SciArt workshops where participants talked through plastic pollution and policy, eco-anxiety, and solutions. A product of community engagement, the artwork offers a creative learning environment where viewers can positively experience, process, and discuss new perspectives on the puzzling life cycle of plastics.
CREDITS
JD Whitman | Dora Mehn, Jessica Ponti, Marisa Sarria Pereira De Passos & Andrea Valsesia
Image by: JD Whitman, 2023