L’ottavo continente
Giulia Pellegrini and Rebecca Sforzani
2021
Recycled cotton yarn, natural wood and agar agar based bioplastics
“We must work towards a world where plastic pollution is unthinkable”
Charles Moore
In 1997, Charles Moore and his crew found themselves in the midst of what would later be called a”plastic continent”. As early as 1988 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States had published a document hypothesizing the existence of this accumulation of garbage in the Pacific Ocean, a consequence of human action and the ocean current, but the extent of the problem was not yet apparent. Following the discovery, Moore decides to change his life and devote himself to the protection and restoration of the marine environment. Starting from this suggestion, the work L’ottavo continente, The Eighth Continent, wants to trigger a reflection on the excessive use of plastic, especially the disposable one, and on the implications that have determined new geography in the world level.
The threads symbolize the sea that welcomes and collects the plastic, hiding it. The public is invited to approach the work, to face the problem with new eyes, with greater awareness. The circular shape represents on one hand the currents and their motion, on the other reminds us how this refusal never disappears, employing up to 500 years to split into particles microscopic. It accumulates in the environment, forming islands and depositing in the seabed, mixing with sand in the most remote parts of the world, until becoming part of the food chain. Are we sure that the plastic island disaster does not concern us closely? Just think that every week, we ingest up to 2,000 tiny pieces of plastic, the equivalent of 5 grams, or better visualize it, of a credit card.
As Moore became aware of the problem once he faced it 20 years ago, we have no excuse today for ignoring the obvious urgency of plastic pollution and its effects.
The project was created for the Ecologicart contest, winning the Sculpture and Installation Prize, and was exhibited in La Striscia Wine Resort in Arezzo (June 2021), and in Galleria La Nica in Rome (September 2021).