PLASTIC FANTASTIC!
2021 - 2022 | Harlem Art Park
 

Plastic Fantastic! is a public art installation that spans 66 feet in width and 7 feet in height, comprised of approximately 1,600 squares and rectangles of aluminum. This piece was displayed in Harlem Art Park from 2021 to 2022.

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The project was inspired by what I perceive as contradictions in our society, paradoxes that have deeply troubled me. As actors in this century, we witness great advancements as well as significant missteps. We find ourselves caught in a daily struggle between ecological concerns and a modern society that both seeks to preserve nature and simultaneously destroys it at an accelerating rate. This contradiction is evident in the drive towards consumerism, which fuels our economy and supports a sophisticated lifestyle, yet directly conflicts with the growing proliferation of waste polluting our environment.

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I have been particularly fixated on single-use plastic bags, which I have collected for years from friends and neighbors, repurposing them into my artwork. This task is surprisingly easy, considering that New York City residents use over 10 billion single-use plastic bags annually.

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In Plastic Fantastic!, I have printed a vibrant panorama of plastic bag images onto the aluminum squares and rectangles to replicate this dichotomy: the aesthetic appeal of each individual bag and its functional role in carrying the treasured acquisitions of our modern lives, against the backdrop of the environmental damage they cause. This installation invites reflection on the irony of their beauty juxtaposed with their danger, urging us to contemplate our role in this modern-day dilemma. Will we really ban these bags, or will we continue to overlook the consequences of our consumer habits?

Plastic Fantastic! is made possible with funding provided by the LMCC, Puffin Foundation and Friends of Art Park Alliance