Everywhere is delivered by The Arts Institute and The Box partnership and supported by Arts Council England.
Find out more about the University of Plymouth's ground-breaking research into marine litter and microplastics pollution.
Everywhere: Life in a littered world
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Mandy Barker
INDEFINITE
and
SHELF-LIFE
The work of photographer Mandy Barker alerts us to the geographical and chronological reach of marine litter, as well as its devastating effects on animals and habitats.
The colours and forms in Barker’s Indefinite series are reminiscent of sea creatures but these are pieces of man-made waste found on the shore. The series estimates how long these plastics will take to degrade in the sea, however as Barker notes, recent research shows that most conventional plastic never actually degrades, rather it simply breaks down into ever smaller micro-plastic particles that will be with us indefinitely.
All Photographs © Mandy Barker
SHELF-LIFE
Barker’s series Shelf-Life is made using plastic objects recovered from Henderson Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the South Pacific. Despite being uninhabited and some 5,000km from the nearest landmass, over six tons of plastic from 25 countries spanning the globe were found here during the expedition in which Barker took part. The images, whose forms are inspired by the incredible coral reefs that surround Henderson, are each titled with a barcode from one of the objects, revealing its country of origin and something of its journey.
More works by Mandy Barker can be found on the artist's website.
Everywhere: Life in a littered world
More works in the exhibition:
