Transforming Marine Debris Into Art in Plastic Planet
On Friday, January 18th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm the AFS Gallery opens its doors to Plastic Planet an environmentally-themed art exhibition that features the work of artists Holly Mackay, Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang. Plastic Planet will help you re-think the way you view this ubiquitous substance. Mackay says, “In the winter of ‘98I began collecting plastic from the beach. The rules were I had to collect everything unnatural that I saw, except cigarette butts… Then with this giant pile of colorful detritus I’d start to make these sculptures. It is an extremely satisfying process. These are made from 100% found beach plastic. Materially, I am trying something new and painting a little on the pieces.”
Mackay’s sculptures are beautiful, evocative and very detailed. “My aim and natural tendency artistically is to find and transform the bad in a way that it’s palatable, even appealing or sexy with the thought that it might help people engage with problems, ecological and other, more directly.”
Art by Holly Mackay- Created from marine debris.
Since 1999 Judith Selby Lang and her husband Richard have been visiting 1000 yards of Kehoe Beach in the Point Reyes National Sea Shore in Northern California where they gather plastic marine debris that travels from as far away as Japan and Korea. The amount of plastic they find is astonishing, in one year, they collected 4,000 pounds.
Selby Lang explains, “By carefully collecting and “curating” the bits of plastic, we fashion it into works of art— art that matter of factly shows, with minimal artifice, the material as it is.”
Selby Lang’s work with her husband was the subject of a short film One Beach Plastic and has been featured on NPR and The Today Show. For Plastic Planet, the Langs will be showing their photographs of found plastic debris.
Found marine debris art by Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang
All of the artists in Plastic Planet are concerned about the large amount of plastic that is rapidly filling our oceans. Mackay finds it “incredibly ironic that there are so many water bottles polluting our water.”
Selby Lang elaborates “The viewer is often surprised that this colorful stuff is the thermoplastic junk of our throwaway culture. As we have deepened our practice we’ve found, like archeologists, that each bit of what we find opens into a pinpoint look at the whole of human culture. Each bit has a story to tell.”
A program of Explore Ecology, the AFS Gallery offers artists a unique space dedicated to assemblage and other art forms. Explore Ecology’s education and art programs combine environmental awareness and artistic creativity to create a connection between people and their environment.
Save the date! Plastic Planet opens onFriday, January 18th and will be at the AFS Gallery until February 23rd.
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson