Underwater Dystopia
2021, assemblage of plastic waste and 'T4 Mutation' sculpture in TOD Gallery
As the news of the new mutation of Covid-19 and we go into T4 lockdown, I started working on this 'T4 Mutation' piece. Knotting, twisting and tying plastic packaging collected from household waste. Forcing the materials into new forms, a much more active visceral mode of making to reflect the current societal feelings of frustration, anger and sadness at this time.
Everyday throughout December I added to the sculpture as it mutated into different forms. The final piece turned into what appeared to be a mutated Jellyfish or some sort of sea creature, grotesque yet beautiful.
As it is made out of plastic it is unnatural, resembling something that could perhaps exist in the future - in an underwater dystopia with the damage of plastic to marine life, yet at the same time beautiful in its form and delicacy.
I included this in my assemblage of ‘Underwater Dystopia’ inside the TOD Gallery. I filled and stuffed the drawers of TOD with plastic. Found drawers and the use of discarded furniture and objects are a common theme in my work; re-appropriating discarded uncared for objects and using them as vessels or containers. In this piece, I’m highlighting the growing problem of plastic waste and its damaging effects on our fragile oceans and marine life.
TOD Gallery: During the first Covid lockdown I set up an unconventional gallery space, in a discarded old dresser, with the aim of curating and showcasing artists’ work, reach out, connect, network and support each other via social media during this difficult time.
I see this work as a starting point to develop new work transforming used unwanted objects and plastic waste into commentary on the environmental crisis as well as tapping into my own social and cultural history and background. I am interested in how discarded everyday objects can be deconstructed and re-constructed to be transformed into art.
