Plastic’s A Beach
In 2019 we were invited to participate in an artist residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was hosted by the beautiful arts organization Temple Children. We used this opportunity to research beach plastic that washes up on Kamilo Beach, an area of the south shore that is a dumping point for one of the great pacific gyres. Though it began as research into the plastic washing up on beaches (collecting, sorting, documenting the small chips of material chewed up by the ocean) it quickly turned into a greater meditation on interconnectedness. The process of gathering plastic became an exploration of the different ecosystems of the island. The lava flows that formed the island became the formwork for relief molds that would be filled with plastic, shells, wood, sand. Through collaborating with local experts, an ad hoc method was developed of melting these sculptural forms over open fires. The resultant objects, rather than seeking to solve a problem, tell a deeper story.
Objects
