Langoustines affected by plastic litter

Since breaking my ankle, I have had a lot of sleepless nights because my leg aches and it is difficult to get comfortable in bed. I listened to Farming Today on Radio 4 at dawn this morning. They had a piece about langoustines in the waters to the north of Scotland being affected by the ingestion of plastic filaments from ropes and nets used by fishing boats. The scientists carrying out the survey were shocked at the amount of plastic particles present in the gut of these crustaceans. They would need to research further to discover if this plastic enters our food chain.
I find it interesting that this problem is encroaching closer to home. It is not only confined to the distant North Atlantic.

Litter Artists

It is amazing what art can be created from litter! That is the only medium used by some artists. When I wrapped my full-sized tree on Bournville Green (see Purple goes Bournville Green post), I used Cadbury Dairy Milk foil wrap. This wrap is biodegradable and I wanted to raise public awareness about Cadbury's environmental policy. Those concerned with the environment are keen to encourage people to reduce, re-use, recycle. Litter Art is the perfect vehicle for this.
Have a look at some of the work of Litter Artists below.

Feedback for Albatross film

It is always useful to have feedback about work from non-artists as well as artists.  They read it using the filters they have developed for their own professional field. I have welcomed the feedback I received from my tutors and fellow art students.  I asked two friends, Dr. Raynor Shaw a geologist recently returned from Hong Kong working for the Geological Survey and his wife, Janice a dietician for their comments.
Music and lyrics - strong, positive contribution to piece.
Visual images     - powerful, 'stomach churning'
                         - loved the swimmer/albatross image
Text                  - possibly more to explain links but reduced to one sentence
Ideas conveyed  - 'why do we produce so much waste?
                          - very few people ever see an albatross yet we touch upon its daily life
                          - we are seduced into buying 'life-enhancing' consumer products without question
                          - like inclusion of Ancient Mariner. Issue of redemption, atonement, punishment
Conclusion         - Several strands going on within film. Would want to watch it several times to catch all the nuances.  It does make you question personal consumer habits.
My comments    - I am pleased that the intended message was communicated. I acknowledge their comment about text and were this purely an educational film, this would be valid. However, as I am appealing to an artistic audience I want to offer the opportunity to draw your own conclusions. 'Less is more'.  I find it really fascinating to hear other peoples thoughts. No wonder film makers show their films to a trial audience to test their reaction.  This could be the difference between a blockbuster and a flop.
Raynor and Janice had to sing for their supper again last night. I played the Royal Philharmonic rendition of 'Under Pressure' as the backing track to my film. The overwhelming reaction was that I keep the Bowie/Queen version. It is stronger, punchier, more rythmic and they felt the lyrics contribute to the overall impact of the piece. Useful feedback.
Norma and Jim were my next critics. They commented that the film changes from beauty in the opening clips to horror when you see the landfill sites. They said that it is sad and frightening and it brings home to you how you only think of your little bit of rubbish, forgetting how it contributes to the bigger picture. They were stagggered by the sheer quantity of marine litter. They found the extent of mass consumption obscene.

Recology S.F.

The United States is always ahead of the game. It is the same for recycling. I have found a recycling centre located in San Francisco called Recology.  It is a huge recycling centre which combines an artists-in-residence programme on site. Artists are invited to use any of the junk at the centre for their artistic projects. What a great idea! Could it catch on here?
The site comprises 44 acres including artists' studios, a sculpture garden and conducts public tours. It's intention is to raise public awareness about recycling.
www.recologysf.com/AIR

Back on the radar

I have been off for a while. I am now back - with a broken ankle! I am wearing a cast up to the knee in the hope that my ankle bones will align without resorting to an op. If this isn't the case, then I will require an op.
Fortunately, with my final piece being a film, I can complete this sitting down. It's all very inconvenient with the Final Show looming on the horizon. When is a convenient time to break your ankle?



New initiatives in the canteen at King Edward V1 Handsworth School

During my research of marine litter, it really hit home that the efforts we make to reduce waste and recycle on a local level have a huge impact on litter reduction globally. When there is such a huge environmental problem it is difficult to know where to start. We cannot save the world all at once. It has taken years for this problem to accumulate and it will take years to reduce it, but what option do we have if we don't want our grandchildren to be waist-high in rubbish? The important thing is to stop creating all this unecessary rubbish in the first place.
At the same time that I was researching this problem, Miss Insch, Headmistress at King Edward V1 School, Handsworth was on a litter drive. She had noticed an increase in litter in the school grounds. The canteen was the source for a lot of it. Empty salt packets littered the area outside the canteen, plastic straws were strewn around the field and the most annoying litter of all was little plastic stirrers which appeared everywhere.  They look like mini ladders and are apparently used to stir coffee and tea. I have never seen a pupil drinking coffee or tea. Why can't they use a spoon and leave it to be washed?

Miss Insch arranged for me to meet the catering Manager, Mrs Rogers. We discussed the amount of unecessary plastic waste created by the canteen. She was very receptive and had had the very same discussion with Birmingham City Council. They had assured her that every effort was made to recycle as much plastic waste as possible. She didn't feel that she received very detailed information about just what happens to the litter once it has been collected.  When I told her just how much plastic is NOT recyclable she was very concerned. Once I have graduated I will be looking into this problem further and I hope to get some answers from Birmingham City Council regarding the destination of our local plastic products for recycling.  I will also be discussing with the catering suppliers the alternative options to plastic packaging for sandwiches - another frequent visitor to the school field.

Fairtrade Fortnight bunting

Fairtrade Fortnight took place this year from 28Feb - 13 March. I worked with King Edward V1 School, Handsworth on making a bunting. Working with years 7, 8 and 12 and in collaboration with Nick Bassett, Head of Art, we produced two hundred individual flags to create a bunting.

It was part of a national attempt to beat the Guinness world record for the longest bunting which currently stands at 2,696 metres.The girls decorated the flags, which we then strung together to create buntings to stretch across the archways along the main corridor. It really brightened up the corridor. The bunting has since been sent off to Fairtrade to be counted as part of the record bid. The Fairtrade target is 4.550 metres.

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/fairtrade_fortnight/fairtrade_fortnight_2011/default.aspx



Tutorial feedback

I had a group tutorial yesterday. We had to present our artwork to fellow students and five tutors. Tutorials are always nervewracking as you just don't know how your work will be received. My artwork consists of a film about marine pollution and its effect on the Albatross population and an aquarium filled with plastic litter.

I played my 3:54 minute film to my group. I received a very encouraging response. Several students were moved to tears. I knew my film contained a hard-hitting message but I have been working on it so intensely that I have lost sight of the impact it has on first-time viewers. The feedback I received was in stark contrast to the initial reaction of my personal tutor when I showed her my first version. 'Not another environmentalist banging on about how we consume too much plastic which kills marine life - bad!' I abandoned my original choice of soundtrack after her comment, ' backed with some dreary soundtrack from the 60's', (sorry Fleetwood Mac!). I ploughed through a lot of music, finally selecting 'Under Pressure' by Bowie and Queen. I chose this because the lyrics really underline my message. The music begins slowly, matching the pace of the Albatross in flight, then it speeds up, matching the images of a factory production line, then builds up to a crescendo which punctuates the images of dead juvenile albatrosses on screen.
The response from the tutors was encouraging. They indicated that the film communicated my environmental message and they liked the inclusion of images from a tv advert. The general consensus was that the aquarium was superfluous as the film encapsulated the message alone. For me this meant saving a fortune on the cost of a large aquarium which I was intending to purchase, However, I am disappointed that I will not be producing an installation. I had envisaged a large glass aquarium spewing out plastic litter.
I am really looking forward to finalising my film because it has had the desired effect and all my hours of trawling through environmental footage and tv ads has been worthwhile. I can see that the film stands on its own and does not need the tank full of plastic litter to underline the message.