Material: recycled packaging polystyrene ,iridescent plastic waste,rgb led spotlight
In its speculative and experimental dimension, Pleuro continues the research undertaken with the "Phylum Ctenophora" project on natural luminescence in particular on biological iridescence , on raising awareness of ecological issues such as tropicalization of the Mediterranean which sees the invasive migration of marine living species such as ctenophores and the reconversion of plastic waste from Mediterranean as a precious resource.
The work dialectically investigates an experimentation
between art, design, craftsmanship and science for a conscious and respectful
recovery of materials. For the realization of the work, the artist made use of
the support of the company Airpol, a company committed to the challenge of
recycling polystyrene, one of the most used plastic materials in the packaging
sector. Pleuro is presented as a luminous sculptural work consisting of
spherical and oval bodies born from the company's laboratories, strengthening
the speculative component related to the increasingly looming problem of
plastic pollution of marine environments, conceptually transferring the
biological qualities of the structural iridescence observed in marine organisms
known as ctenophores, particularly in the cosmopolitan species Pleurobrachia
Pileus in the Mediterranean.
The material experimentation of plastic waste, through the
joint synergy of art with the planning of design, has come to shape
unprecedented solutions such as the emphasis and enhancement of the corpuscular
texture of the mixture obtained from recycled polystyrene and the incorporation
of plastic waste iridescent that allow you to modify the chromatic qualities of
the light in a precise way.
The exposure of the work to LED light sources emphasizes the
gaseous bodies incorporated in the new material and generates a multitude of
textures and changing optical effects on different iridescent shades, visually
embellishing it.
Through this procedure, a double changing aesthetic is
obtained both day and night in accordance with the nature of the animals of
natural inspiration. The chromatic variability is made possible by the
iridescent plastic scraps that reflect the light on different iridescent
shades, creating a different color scheme depending on the point of
observation.
The driving and metaphorical force of the work is marked by
a series of superficial cracks, which visibly indicate the allusion to the
similarity that exists between the production process of recovery and
enhancement of industrial waste carried out by the company in
collaboration with designers and artists, to contrast the Anthropocene and the
philosophy of the Japanese artistic technique of Kintsugi which literally means
"repair with gold" which involves repairing broken ceramic objects by
welding together the fragments of the object generally using liquid gold. The ancient technique originates from the philosophical
concept that something renewed and better can be born from an imperfection or
damage. The emerging luminous fractures, in fact, are obtained by modulating
the thickness of the material mixture in specific points of the structure of
the work, thus ensuring a stability of the material and a controlled and
localized breakage of the surface. The cracks obtained generate a series of
visible and chromatically different light projections depending on the angle of
observation when the lamps are illuminated.
