artist statement

We go through 500 billion plastic bags a year, world wide, which amounts to over 1 million bags a minute.  Short lived, single use plastic bags go through the hands of most of humanity, but they are also found in nature's grasp as well.  Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, and floating in our rivers and oceans. My current series addresses the ramifications of the seemingly innocent plastic bag upon marine life. 

My work represents a marriage of two contradictory worlds, the natural and the synthetic. I am interested in the similarity between jellyfish and plastic bags, and what happens when they are comingled in the oceanic abyss. While both entities originate from two separate landscapes, the physical natures of the two have parallel characteristics. Floating freely on the currents, both appear transparent, shining iridescent colors, radiating luminously, and gliding gracefully in water. I confront this conflict through my material choice, using collaged plastic bags as a surface. Employing the use of the delicate bags along with painting imagery of jellyfish, the synonymous nature of the two is depicted. Though they appear the same, drifting through the ocean, the outcome after digesting a plastic bag mistaken for a jellyfish can be a deadly encounter for aquatic life.