Manifesta 9 – Plastic Reef
Maarten Vanden Eynde is a young Belgian artist, who lives and works in the Netherlands, France and Belgium. His Plastic Reef consists of plastic debris.
Upon learning that there was a huge “floating landfill” made up of plastic trash swirling in the Pacific Ocean, Vanden Eynde collected hundreds of kilos of this refuse, which he then melted down to form Plastic Reef.
Why did he choose this debris for his artwork?
The work is a comment on the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans as well as a reference to disappearing coral reefs around the world. The project and its accompanying website aim to raise awareness about the effects of plastic pollution and its toxic properties.
You find more information on:
http://www.plasticreef.com
. Check out the other pictures on Flickr!
7 Comments on “Manifesta 9 – Plastic Reef”
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Ingrid is a Worldette!
thats interesting.
And original!
It is amazing that pollution fills so much even in the middle of the ocean.. But people thought that nature could absorb anything. This work of art maKes us reflect over the fact that we shall not only look after ourselves and other people, but our existance depends on not throwing everything in the ambiente. Both land and sea
There’s just so much of it. I bet he can build plastic reefs for the rest of his life and still not make a dent in the problem.
When you look at the images on the website, I have the same impression.
I don’t know that I consider this art.
But to be face to face with pieces of the trash island is definitely moving.
The eternal question: what is art? At least he did some creative with all that trash!