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Plastic Sea

 

(2019) Interactive Light & Sound Installation. Dimensions variable.
Plastic sheet, LED, motor, Raspberry Pi, Arduino & custom software.

“Plastic Sea” is a comment on the increasing pollution of seas with plastic debris. A plastic sheet is covering the entire room and moving to give the illusion of a sea. A hidden light is illuminating the plastic sea and the room. The light is also reflected on the ceiling and on the walls of the room creating wave patterns and enhancing the sense that you are experiencing a room filled with water.  There is a touchscreen with an interactive map of the earth. The installation selects a random spot form the 5 ocean gyres and the Mediterranean sea and according to the amount of the plastic debris found there, it changes the magnitude of the plastic sea’s waves. The visitor can also interact and select a spot from the map. The installation will read the plastic pollution data of this spot and will adjust the height of the waves. The installation also emulates the light conditions of the selected spot on the map and changes the light to sunrise, day, sunset, and night.

“Plastic Sea” at SPECTRA 2020, Aberdeen, UK.
“Plastic Sea” at SPECTRA 2020, Aberdeen, UK.

 

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Plastic pollution data courtesy of Dumpark (dumpark.com)
An interactive app developed by Dumpark can be found here http://app.dumpark.com/seas-of-plastic-2/

Exhibitions:

SPECTRA 2020, Aberdeen, United Kingdom (February 13, 2020)
Athens Digital Arts Festival Tribute, Athens, Greece (May 10, 2019)

Photos

Plastic Pollution Facts

Plastics are the most common form of marine debris. They can come from a variety of land- and ocean-based sources, enter the water in many ways, and impact the ocean and Great Lakes. Once in the water, plastic debris never fully biodegrades. The annual consumption of plastic bottles outstripping recycling efforts and jeopardizing oceans, coastlines, and other environments. A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change.

The Plastic Soup

The five ocean gyres on Earth all have floating plastic in a variety of sizes swirling in them. The Great Pacific Gyre is the most infamous. (source: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/plastic-oceans-cleanup/)

 

Plastics in the Ocean (source: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov)