Tag: creative scotland

Posted by jcb990 on in Uncategorized

ArtCOP2015

As the world leaders come together this week to address the crucial issues of how come to agreements to slow down and stop Global Warming caused by our ever increasing CO2 emissions and destruction of the forests, artists all over the world are making work and running events to draw attention to the issue.

My contribution is to visually summarise in a simple way the volumes of waste I have witnessed on the beaches around Scotland over the last 2 years and the wasted energy that represents. With the help of scientist John McIntyre who has generously shared with me his recent research into Plastic Data, I am quantifying the embodied energy that each cube represents as it sits on the beaches and is buried in landfill.

I have selected 5 common plastic beach litter items to stack and combine into measurable cubes so I  can quantify the energy content of the discarded waste on beaches over the duration of the Climate Change Conference, both the images and calculations will be shared here on the blog and on Twitter @LittoralArt 

#COPcube [1. Polypropylene]

COPcube1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 10 cm

Material : sections of prawn boxes corrugated plastic/twin wall plastic sheets. Produced from High-Impact Polypropylene PP           Weight: 1280g                Embodied energy content: 3.72 litres petrol or 122.1 MJ/Kg  Location: Loch Broom, Ross-shire beaches

 

#COPcube [2. Polyethylene]

COPcube2Dimensions:15 x 15 x 15 cm                               Material : strapping used to hold together fish/prawn/packaging boxes.  Produced from Polyethylene terephthalate PET  orPETE         Weight: 220g      Embodied energy content: 0.36 litres petrol or 11.81 MJ/Kg Location: collected Dun Canna beach, Ross-shire

 

#COPcube [3. High-density polyethelene ]

COPcube3 top BW txt copyDimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 cm    Material : mussel pegs – used in aquaculture, cast plastic

Produced from High-density polyethelene HDPE     Weight: 4196g     Embodied energy content: 10.15 litres petrol or 334.29 MJ/Kg    Location: collected Shetland beaches

 

#COPcube [4. Polypropylene]

COPcube 4 flattened

Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 7 cm       Material : plastic tubes – sticks/shafts of ‘cotton bud’ products – domestic /cosmeti    Produced from Polypropylene PP                               Weight: 138g   Embodied energy content: 0.4 litres petrol or 13.17 MJ/Kg Location: collected Portobello & Crammond beaches, Firth of Forth

 

 

#COPcube [5. Polyethylene]

COPcube5 persp flattened copyDimensions: 5 x 5 x 5 cm    Material : mixed micro fibres from ropes, strapping, plastic bags etc Commercial & domestic sources    Produced from Polyethylene terephthalate PET  orPETE      Weight: 14g         Embodied energy content: 0.022 litres petrol or 0.753 MJ/Kg         Location: collected Badentarbet beach, Ross-shire

 

The embodied energy calculations include the energy used in the feed stock (raw material) used to manufacture the plastic, it also includes the energy used to manufacture and transport the finished plastic product.

The energy content data used is from the ICE database. Craig Jones at Bristol University created it. http://www.circularecology.com/embodied-energy-and-carbon-footprint-database.html#.VlyZtIX9M7A

A series of arts events are taking place all over the world, as part of the ArtCOP 2015. You can find out more at http://www.artcop21.com . The Scottish partner for this is Creative Carbon Scotland. Please follow and pass on the links and feel free to leave a comment

John McIntyre is trying to work out using the available data on resource abundance, population, agriculture and realistic engineering if it is possible for us to construct a sustainable civilization from the trap humanity has accidentally constructed following the century long unplanned transition from a feudal near medieval society to an age of great danger and wonder.

Posted by jcb990 on in Uncategorized

Good News

This week I had confirmation that Creative Scotland have awarded Open Project Funding towards a Littoral Art Project Exhibition which will take place in Shetland in October 2016 and in Ullapool in 2017.

CS logo 1 copy    Rhue polystyrene copy

I am utterly delighted that I can begin to put outline plans to make the work  into action. The award covers 27% of my estimated costs, so there is still more to raise but many individual supporters and organisations have also generously made promises of support in kind and my Shetland partners  the Shetland Amenity Trust are also seeking funding. I will be including a full list of supporters on the Sponsorship page, along with a list of items and  help still needed to make the exhibition successful.   The fund raising will continue so if you have any ideas  of who might help please get in touch!

plastic rocks     Plastic Rock

I plan to begin my process of making work by collecting materials I intend using for my installation, firstly ‘plastic rocks’ each piece will be Grid Referenced and catalogued.  As usual I will be inviting people to join me in collecting  along beaches. Dates and locations to be announced. If you are doing any beach walks/cleans in either the Northwest Highlands or Shetland GeoParks – please keep any plastic rocks you find on the beaches with a note of where you picked it up and I will collect from you .

Please follow the blog, Tweet and leave any comments and suggestions.

 

 

Posted by jcb990 on in Uncategorized

Kickstarter Appeal

Littoral – Kickstarter Appeal 2015

I am planning to use the information I have collected over the last 18 months on beach litter, to make a  series of contemporary artworks for a Littoral Art Project multi-media exhibition

I am asking for your support to produce a key part of this exhibition, a laminated colour
Guide to Beach Litter                             

The guide will help facilitate workshops with community groups that I am scheduled to work with as the exhibition is created and tours Scotland over the next 2 years. The locations are as follows; Shetland, Inverclyde, Ullapool, Peterhead and Edinburgh.

Rewards for your donation include copies of the Guide to Beach Litter and key rings made from items of up-cycled beach litter marked with the location they were recovered from.  Please click on the link below for more details and pass on to friends, colleagues and post on appropriate websites/blogs.   Your help is much appreciated.   Thank you
Click to Kickstarter Littoral  Appeal

 
Posted by jcb990 on in Uncategorized

Thinking…..

…..in Abundance, in the company of  350 people attending the  TEDx* talks on Friday at  the University Edinburgh.

TED ent bottle

My contribution was to create an installation to spark discussion and catalyse debate about Scotland’s problem of beach litter

Talk attendees were asked to follow the sound of the sea  to find the installation,  along the way passing  statements about the condition of the beaches and litter found. Reaching the installation room they were asked to Enter, Consider  and Respond –  by tweeting a picture and comment. On entering the room the viewer was confronted by a collage of projected images of seemingly massive floating plastic  bottles which emanated from seven overhead projectors positioned throughout the room . Participants were encouraged to walk around, reposition bottles on the projectors  and to ask questions about the issue. Many engaging in discussion with me about the  major part that plastics plays in the problem.

IMG_1628  IMG_1689   IMG_1665   IMG_1666

IMG_1673       IMG_1635      TED entrance      IMG_1712      IMG_1655    

IMG_2974   TED installation 2   TED comment  TED comments & fossils

A display of a few of the ‘future  fossils’ helped to introduce the issue of the longevity of the litter problem and my new crowd funding appeal video gave an on the beach background to the project.  In the centre of the floor a 1 metre square was marked out with plastic drinks bottles I had recently found in a similar area on a beach last month , bottles like the ones we use everyday for 5 minutes which might have  contained  water, juice, coke …. prompting the question why are we using bottles made of a material that lasts up to 1,000+years when the contents are drunk in a few minutes ? Prompting comments like:

 It’s not even good for you to drink out of ta plastic bottle!!  

Where does what you drop end up? Here               One day the ocean will throw it all back at us

We’re paying today the price  for a  mind set from a time when environmentalism still didn’t exist in our vocabularies

Make rubbish valuable e.g. non throwaway bottles.

There needs to be an incentive to recycle. For example in Scandinavia you’re charged 20c per bottle if you return it , you’re given money back. In my time living in Finland I didn’t once see bottles lying around.

Please comment on the installation and the event

* TEDx is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TED’s mission is to freely promote “ideas worth spreading”. TED Technology, Education,  Design. Talks are offered for free viewing on line in 2012 TED Talks had been watched one billion times worldwide