Our world now faces multiple interlinked planetary and human health crises that require urgent action. In response, a growing number of artists are depicting these problems in their works—and expressing the need for solutions. In this blog, we highlight 7 works of art by Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) Artist Allies that will open your eyes to an issue that affects us all: plastic pollution.
Alvaro Soler-Arpa
Almost everything around us is designed and created to be quickly and easily consumable. It shall please, accommodate, and delight in its convenience. Plastic, of course, is a main tool of this consumerist industry. Aimed at satisfying superfluous needs, it generates demand, regardless of its negative impact on our physical and mental environment.
With his work, Alvaro Soler-Arpa aims to “unmask an incognito villain who acts among us with impunity.” His work invites us to address questions like: What are the hidden effects of marketing products that lead us toward unnecessary consumerism, and what are the effects of plastic on our natural environment?
The above is a sculpture from his series, “Evolución Tóxica (Toxic Evolution)” called “Marine Animal” and created using materials like animal bones, wire, and plastic pollution.
This work primarily is a swan song to nature and its resigned yet unrelenting struggle for survival. Pollution has abused and mutated our natural environment. However, humankind’s relentless assault on nature has not overwhelmed its strength. The sculptures portray asymmetric and crippled creatures that, nonetheless, move forcefully. Toxic Evolution venerates the struggle of nature to perpetuate itself against all the odds, despite the residues that poison its veins.
— Alvaro Soler-Arpa, writing about his Evolución Tóxica series
Find more information about Alvaro and his artwork on his website here.
Pam Longobardi
Ocean Archeology of our Times / Pam Longobardi, Oct. 2023
Commission for permanent collection of Patina Hotel EcoResort, Fari Islands, Maldives.
Plastic is at the center of the greatest challenges the ocean and all life on earth faces, as climate change and sea-level rise threaten humans and creatures alike.
As the ocean declines, it communicates with us through the plastic we have not taken responsibility for. This work of nearly 1,000 pieces of global ocean plastic was completed by collaborative community action, recovering plastic from Bird and Fari Island.
In the threatened environmental gem of the Maldives in the face of climate change disaster, waking up to our collective responsibility and taking action to change our habits, this work is a monument to a moment of human awakening.
Learn more about Pam Longobardi and her artwork here and on her Instagram page.
Kalliopi Monoyios
How do daily life’s small, seemingly insignificant decisions add up over time? Beginning in January 2019, a friend of Denver-based artist Kalliopi Monoyios collected her family’s soft plastic trash for an entire year. The resulting quilt covers an entire 26-foot wall, spilling out onto the floor. It’s a profoundly intimate piece, documenting the personal decisions this family made as they navigated daily life: nourishing their bodies and traveling for leisure, for work, for a family funeral, and more.
No matter who you are or what your life circumstances are, the comparisons to your own habits and behaviors are inevitable. This is our legacy. Are we okay with what we’re leaving behind? And how is consumerism driving us to make these decisions?
In addition to her website and Instagram, Kalliopi has a Substack called Hope in the Plasticene.
Cindy Pease Roe
Pictured above is New York contemporary artist Cindy Pease Roe with her 26-foot-long giant squid piece made entirely from plastic pollution from beaches and marine waters. Her piece, Medusa, is currently featured in Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum’s special exhibit, “Monsters & Mermaids: Legends of the Sea” on Long Island, NY.
Cindy creates artwork with plastics from beaches and marine waters to inform folks about how plastic pollution harms the oceans—and us—and to inspire action. Through this mission, she founded UpSculpt, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization empowering our community through art, science, and educational workshops. This project was made possible with support from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Learn more at cindypeaseroe.com and upsculpt.com. Check out the Monsters & Mermaids exhibit here.
Aurora Robson
Founding artist of Project Vortex, New York-based Aurora Robson is an artist who has been working with post-industrial and post-consumer plastic for twenty years. Her piece Eos was made by injection-welding post-industrial plastic, primarily decommissioned highway safety drums & industrial detergent barrels. Suggestive of an ocean of flames, Eos reflects on the plastic in our water, bloodstreams, and air, and the fact that oil & water do not mix. (Since most plastic is made of fossil fuels, such as gas and oil.)
Robson’s work ironically reveals that plastic is well-suited for art and design applications, wherein its longevity is an asset. Eos is a whimsical but serious wake-up call to action to address plastic pollution through creative stewardship and was commissioned for a temporary exhibition at Troy Glow in NY in 2024.
Check out Aurora’s Instagram page and website to see more of her work.
Tomfoolery
In the early months of 2020, UK-based visual poet Tomfoolery started his online YouTube account, striking a careful balance between spoken word poetry and storytelling with a calming, big-brotherly demeanour. It proved a successful formula; his poem, 2020’s ‘The Great Realisation,’ attracted over 100 million views.
In “The Plastic Age,” Tomfoolery collaborates with Plastic Pollution Coalition to use his creative and unique spoken-word poetry and filmmaking talents to communicate and explore the history of the plastic pollution crisis, from humankind initially harvesting crude oil to the invention and overuse of plastics. The crisis is severe and growing rapidly as new plastic production escalates—yet, real solutions exist.
‘The Plastic Age’ was one of the most meaningful collaborations I’ve been a part of, and working with Plastic Pollution Coalition gave the words purpose beyond the page. I feel deeply aligned with their mission, and I strive to continue working at the intersection of creativity and activism. — Tomfoolery
Visit Tomfoolery’s Instagram page, website, or YouTube channel to learn more.
Benjamin Von Wong
Benjamin Von Wong is a multidisciplinary visual artist and activist who uses recycled and reclaimed materials to create striking work around the intersection of humanity’s biggest issues, from climate change to social justice.
Leading from the principle that the world’s largest issues are intertwined, Von Wong endeavors to co-create work with communities to help build more resilient ecosystems. His work often invites organizations and citizens to participate in the artistic process directly.
Most recently, in what became an iconic symbol of the latest round of the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC-5.2), Von Wong assembled an installation outside the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, titled The Thinker’s Burden. The art installation depicted a man cradling a newborn baby and clutching a plastic water bottle while seated atop Mother Earth, adjoining a strand of DNA, representing the heavy burden of plastic pollution on human health and future generations. Volunteers helped construct the installation on the ground and add plastic to the installation each day to demonstrate the serious and mounting costs of inaction.
This striking artwork became a focal point for activations and drew widespread attention across social media and news outlets. In a moving video, a performer is seen dancing around the art piece and questioning whether or not to have children, given the threats of plastics to human health and fertility.
Learn more about Benjamin Von Wong on his website and Instagram page.
