Molly Ritmiller
Imagine the archaeologists of the future: what relics will remain to trace our present history, found among our bones? Undoubtedly: plastic, untouched 500+ years into the future. Currently, our legacy is plastic destruction: oceans of plastic bags, forests of plastic forks, wreaking havoc on our environment, outliving us all.
In our plastic material legacy, there remain opportunities to leave behind a different material record, displaying care and thoughtfulness for the materials we use, for plastics we have already created to find a purpose other than environmental destruction. This project imagines an archaeological record of resourcefulness rather than wastefulness.
In our plastic material legacy, there remain opportunities to leave behind a different material record, displaying care and thoughtfulness for the materials we use, for plastics we have already created to find a purpose other than environmental destruction. This project imagines an archaeological record of resourcefulness rather than wastefulness.
Links
https://prattmid.com/Molly-Ritmiller
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It began with questions: what was plastic? How did it become so cheap? How is so much of it not recycled?
Through research, three particular understandings of plastic became clear:
(1) there is a mismatch in the material properties of plastic and its application,
(2) modern plastics are petrol plastics meaning plastic is built with geological materials and runs on geological time,
(3) some plastics escape current waste streams, resulting in this material becoming locally available/reclaimable.
I began reclaiming plastic bags (not recyclable in NYC), recycling them and reforming them to reflect their geology, marbling them under heat and pressure; and to express their preciousness, handcrafting them into singularly plastic, yet handmade, cared for objects.
Through research, three particular understandings of plastic became clear:
(1) there is a mismatch in the material properties of plastic and its application,
(2) modern plastics are petrol plastics meaning plastic is built with geological materials and runs on geological time,
(3) some plastics escape current waste streams, resulting in this material becoming locally available/reclaimable.
I began reclaiming plastic bags (not recyclable in NYC), recycling them and reforming them to reflect their geology, marbling them under heat and pressure; and to express their preciousness, handcrafting them into singularly plastic, yet handmade, cared for objects.
PetraPlast