‘SOUP’ is a description given to plastic debris suspended in the sea, with particular reference to the mass accumulation that exists in The North Pacific Ocean known as the Garbage Patch. The series aims to engage with and stimulate an emotional response by combining a contradiction between initial aesthetic attraction with awareness of the disturbing statistics of dispersed plastics having no boundaries, resulting ultimately in the death of sea creatures. All the plastics photographed have been salvaged from beaches around the world and represent a global collection of debris having existed for varying amounts of time in the world’s oceans.
‘SOUP’ is a description given to plastic debris suspended in the sea, with particular reference to the mass accumulation that exists in an area of The North Pacific Ocean known as the ‘Garbage Patch’. The series aims to engage with and stimulate an emotional response in the viewer, by combining a contradiction between initial aesthetic attraction and an awareness of the disturbing statistics of dispersed plastics having no boundaries, which result ultimately, in the death of sea creatures.
Research has proved that marine mammals, sea birds and turtles are constantly affected by entanglement and ingestion from plastic debris with micro plastic particles affecting invertebrates, from barnacles to amphipods. The transference of toxic contaminants that occurs from plastic to marine life is disturbing and concerning for the short and long-term implications to human health.
All the plastics photographed have been salvaged from beaches around the world and represent a global collection of debris having existed for varying amounts of time in the world’s oceans.