The FIFA World Cup 2014 was the spark for this project. In the year leading up to the event, Mandy Barker put out an international call for footballs found in the sea and on shorelines.
In just 4 months, people sent her a total of 992 marine debris balls. These originated from 144 different beaches in 41 different countries and islands.
The recovered footballs are presented against a black background to resemble the deep ocean.
Barker says, ‘The series title has a double meaning. In football, a penalty is a punishment for breaking a rule. In relation to my project, a penalty is the price we will pay if we do not look after our oceans by managing the over-consumption of plastic and becoming responsible for its disposal.’
To hear Barker talk about this series of work listen here:
Recovered toys, action heroes and transformers reflect inadequate disposal of children’s toys – the message being to TRANSFORM the habits and behaviour of the younger generation in Hong Kong.
Ingredients; representing more than 500 pieces of plastic debris found in the digestive tract of a dead Albatross chick found in the North Pacific Gyre.
Discarded cigarette lighters make reference to our single-use throw away society. The panda, a national emblem of China represents endangered species and faces away from the group symbolising mother nature turning its back on man’s inability to take ownership of its waste.
Indefinite shows plastic objects, presented unwashed and unaltered, as they were found on the shore.
The forms and shapes might seem reminiscent of sea creatures, but are actually man-made from different plastics. As they gradually break down into microplastic particles, they are likely to be eaten by fish and birds.
Based on information sources from 2010, the images are captioned with the estimated time it takes for discarded plastics to degrade in the sea.
Barker says, ‘Since this series was created, new research by polymer scientists has found that, unless burned, all the plastic ever produced is still with us on the planet and is merely fragmenting into ever smaller pieces. We should now regard the degradation time for marine plastics to be indefinite.’
To hear more about this series from Barker listen here:
Plastics - Mixed Plastic never biodegrades, it merely breaks down into smaller fragments. These microplastic particles and fibres are found ... Read More
Plastic Bottle 90% of marine rubbish found on coastlines worldwide is related to single-use plastics; bottles, tops, straws, food packaging ... Read More
Monofilament and macrofilament fishing line Fishing line affects the mobility of aquatic animals, once entangled they struggle to eat, breathe ... Read More
