A Change in Direction

 Although I have been quite keen on the idea of creating organic forms based on creatures and plastics found in the sea, I have had an alternative idea that gives me a bit more excitement, but it still relates to the general theme. I went to the shop and bought a carton of tropical juice not thinking much of it. But as I held the object in my hands I realised how interesting the shape was and how nice it felt to hold, and I decided I wanted to cast it. Making replica cartons would be a comment on packaging waste and the on-going litter crisis; using ceramics would change the language of the object and question ideas of the future and permanence. The research and experimentation I have already done will still be useful to me and I hope to use patterns and motifs in reference to that.

Consumerism is such a huge issue right now, and one that will affect all our lives in the near future. It is a crisis of sustainability and pollution, and as an artist there are certain moral dilemmas in terms of our practises, more instance, how do we create art without depleating the worlds resources or contributing needless 'stuff' to the planet that is already over run by it. Our lifestyles are excessive and it is hard to imagine adapting to true sustainability without reverting to almost pre-historic ways of living. 

I feel good about the fact that I am using clay for my work; it is natural and there is plenty of it in the world, it won't hurt the environment if discarded or abandoned outside (unlike plastics) but we still run into issues at certain points in the process, in particular, firing. Some ceramics are fired at 1000 degrees - requiring an immense amount of energy. I imagine the packaging and distribution of clay is another contributer to pollution. In my 'mapping privilege' project with dug clay, I felt that my carbon footprint was quite minimal, however I still had to use computers for research, drive to the location and have the work fired. But this consumption of energy may just be a droplet in the ocean in comparison to the big corporations of the world constantly churning out collossal amounts of fossil fuels and waste into the environment; it makes me wonder if it is even worth trying to change our personal choices when there will still be entities like this making it all seem pointless.  It bothers me that it is always in our conscience to try and recycle etc, and a lot of us try really hard, but when celebrities are constantly hopping on private jets to travel a few minutes away it makes me feel like I'm wasting my time.