Litter Plants: Experimenting with Scale and the addition of Waste Oil

I decided to experiment with the scale of the Litter plants that I am creating and make really small ones in tiny pots, as if the plant is just starting out. People grow plants from seeds in small pots and I felt that this size is something people can relate to in this context. These sculptures portray the idea of the soil being so contaminated and toxic that mutant litter plants are all that will grow out of it and puts across the harm the earth experiences from landfill as well as littering.

I have poured car waste oil over these sculptures too, highlighting environmental harm by using materials associated with it within the work and making them look polluted and dirty.

GAP CRIT: Displaying my Paintings and Sculptures

For my Gap Crit, I decided to show my Paintings and Sculptures. The Gap Crit was a worthwhile exercise, people gave me both positive and helpful feedback and even brought up things about my work that I hadn’t thought about. I have lot’s of ideas of progression from this exercise.

For example, someone said that the brightly coloured painting linked with pollution in terms of the colours being toxic and saturated just like the world is becoming. I hadn’t thought about the colours representing toxicity. The idea of combining the dark paintings with the brighter painting came up which is what I am thinking of working with next. Thin glazes rather than opaque paint was mentioned. The subtle smell of oil was considered effective and my use of polluting materials something I should continue with and further but I should integrate the litter into the work more rather than it being so on the surface.

Someone said my paintings give an impression of a world they wouldn’t want to be in, but they are in. This confirms to me that they are highlighting environmental harm and avoiding overlooking it successfully.

Litter Plants: Experimenting with Sculpture

I did some research into environmental harm and found that often the soil underneath landfill becomes full of toxins and metal deposits and that things struggle to grow in it, apart from hyperaccumalator plants which can be used to extract these toxins. This got me thinking about what would grow out of this metallic toxic soil if plants could grow and so these kind of mutant litter plant sculptures were created.

The Litter Plants are potted in actual soil, highlighting the contrast between what is causing environmental harm and what is being harmed. The structure is made from recycled cardboard as a support to stick all of the litter to and build up the plant. I’ve never really experimented with sculpture before, so this is new for me, furthering and pushing my skills.

Ha Schult – “Trash People”

I came across the artist Ha Schult whilst searching for artists that incorporated Litter and pollutants into their work as I am doing within my painted works. Ha Schult creates sculptural works that he called “trash people”, human forms made out of litter.

Sculptures of “Trash People “, a perfomance made of German artist Ha Schult are exhibited at the Maniacea Castle for a G8 Environment meeting on April 22, 2009 in Siracusa, on the Italian island of Sicily. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

“In twenty containers they roam around the world like refugees of the consumer society. The Trash People are images of ourselves. We produce trash and we will become trash. Today’s Coca-Cola bottle is the Roman archeological found of tomorrow” – Ha Schult

He refers to his trash people as refugees of consumer society. To me, these sculptures comment on the amount of litter that we create, but also comments on the fact that the world is becoming less natural. The human body is a natural form and to see it made out of litter and man made waste to me is very powerful and makes you think about how much waste you are producing. It also portrays the fact that man are responsible for harming the planet, through littering and causing landfill.

I have never really experimented with sculpture, but this work inspires me to want to use the litter I am collecting to start experimenting with sculptural works. Whether I make piles of litter, like mini representations of landfill or make a recognisable form, I think having something made out of lots of litter that people can relate to highlights the harm our world is experiencing.

The Venice Biennale: Walead Beshty

Whilst visiting the Venice Biennale 2015, the work of Walead Beshty really caught my attention, not only did I think that the work was very visually successful but I couldn’t help link it with my own practice. The work sparked ideas that I would like to experiment with within my art work.

When I came across these sculptural works, I instantly thought about black oil dripping over man-made objects. I couldn’t distance the work from themes evident within my own practice. The fact that the artist has used everyday objects that people can relate too and covered them in dripping substances makes me think about oil spills and how the place and objects within it are affected.

Beshty’s work makes me want to experiment with sculpture, something I have never really explored before. I was thinking I could make some kind of sculptures with litter, collected litter both helping the environment and highlighting the amount of harm humans place on the land and the wildlife in this way. Maybe then I could explore pouring waste oil onto the work inspired by the poured, dripping effect within these pieces.

Isaac Cordal: Miniature Sculptures

Isaac Cordal’s piece dubbed “politicians debate global warming” is a metaphor for climate change inaction. It highlights how the government is not doing enough, quick enough to address environmental issues contributing to global warming and climate change. Just like environmental issues, this work is incredibly easy to ignore. These figures are tiny clay sculptures placed in a puddle on the streets of Berlin. When seen from afar these appear just as small dots I’m a collection of water on the street, but when you zoom in a very relevant image of politicians refusing to act more promptly even when water is rising around them.

Cordal has also created a series of works entitled “waiting for climate change”. Depicting people waiting for the effects of global warming to happen. This is highly relevant to today’s society as this shows that people are aware of climate change but aren’t doing anything to make the situation better they are just accepting it. Cordal’s work is highly inspiring, it addressed environmental issues and the human relation to them. His work encourages me to think about the fact that people ignore the harm that the environment is experiencing and makes my work even more significant in terms of exposing environmental damage and raising awareness and gives me confidence in my ideas.

 

The Venice Biennale: Monica Bonvicini: Latent Combustion

I viewed Monica Bonvicini’s “Latent Combustion” Piece at the Venice Biennale, Arsenale. This work has obvious connections to my work and is influential to my ideas both physically and materially. This work makes me think of particular environmental issues, the chainsaws and the wood axe of deforestation and the black polyurethane of Oil Spills. This work encourages me to think about using objects in my work that are related to environmental harm. I could utilise objects that are associated with harming the planet and materials that actually do so like Litter or are the affect of environmental damage like waste oil for example. The dripping black liquid is something I would like to incorporate into my work, I have been using ink but I would like to work with using actual oil and if that doesn’t work out this could be an inspiration for a replica material to use as this artist has used black polyurethane. I could also maybe think about making sculptures with found objects that are causing harm in the environment and dripping oil or black substances over them as well. I am much more familiar with creating 2D work and am not very confident in sculpture but it is something to think about.

Nele Azevedo – 5,000 Melting Ice Sculptures

Nele Azevedo created a piece incorporating 5000 melting ice sculptures of small men sitting on steps in Birmingham. The piece was a memorial to the Victims of World War I.

Eventhough the artist’s intentions with this piece weren’t associated with environmental issues, I see this piece as being so. This work makes me think about the melting ice caps and climate change and the fact that man is at fault. It also encourages me to consider the fact that If man continues to treat the planet how it is, over time just as animals are becoming extinct, man may become extinct. Melting Ice is an interesting material to use, in terms of my work, this influences me to think about utilising materials that relate to environmental harm or harm the environment themselves like litter, twigs and tree parts from cut down trees, oil like substances maybe.

Takeshi Kawano

These three sculptures and installations of the Japanese artist Takeshi Kawano aim to raise awareness on the issue of global warming.

The work depicts animals such as polar bears and penguins seemingly melting away, commenting on the fact that the ice caps are melting and wildlife facing extinction and or losing their habitats. The work is relevant to my practice in that it addresses and highlights environmental issues, the sculptures are quite simple but highly effective and clear in what they are portraying, encouraging me to think about the place of simplicity and complexity within my work. The idea of things melting is an interesting idea within art and makes me think about dripping or puddles of liquid which could be interesting to incorporate into 2D work in the form of paint or ink perhaps.