Sea Me - Installation Art to Raise Awareness on Plastic Waste Pollution

Sea Me invites reflection and empathy to the less visible impacts of plastic pollution on our nature habitats, the animals, and our lives. Through visual story-telling, exhibitions, and photographs, it opens spaces for conversations and meaningful changes.

Problem: Environmental crisis affected by human activities has become more relevant to us than before in recent decades, with plastic waste as one of the major contributors. 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic waste (Crusders, 2021), and commercial fishing is one of the major causes of plastic pollution in the ocean. Despite the detrimental impact, they’re not something that is necessary visible to most people. Animals injured or died from plastic pollution, microplastics present in our everyday environment…

Objective: This project explores how interactive art can create an opportunity for audiences to relate and explore environmental issues, in this case, the impacts of plastic waste pollution on nature habitats and our lives. This project seeks to use visual narrative as a medium to raise awareness, spark conversation, increase empathy and reflections upon the issue of plastic waste pollution and our relationship with nature.

Keywords: visual narrative, sustainability, plastic pollution, empathy, reflective art

‘When plastic lives forever, what dies instead?’

Background Research and Experimentation

News and museum display related to plastic pollution and its impact on animals and habitat

A series of animal artifacts were made for the project. Materials include metal wires, plaster wrapping, soft plastics, recycled fishing nets, newspaper, clay, and acrylic paints.

What I found within a 10 minutes walk at my local beach

Recorded everyday single used food packaging

Experimented with food packaging connected with wire in various environment. Explored ideas of participants making something with plastic, or exhibit artifacts as installation