Turning
TRASH into ART
with the
PopUpCycler
As a visiting artist, we’ll embark on a DIY recycling project and turn your trash into art. Participants will collect, clean, shred and extrude #2 plastic into a collaborative sculptural installation.
Who?
I’m an artist, making sculpture that is recycled, kinetic, interactive, involves the community and is public. Recently, I took a pledge not to buy anything new or throw anything away. For the past several years, I’ve been making sculptural installations using recycled materials: ocean debris, bicycle inner tubes, bowling balls, reusable nylon bags and plastic for example.
WHY?
Our environment is one of the most critical global issues we all face today. If we don't address climate change, global warming, our increasing carbon footprint, overconsumption and the depletion of natural resources we'll suffer the consequences. Waste reduction and disposal are issues that we can all address locally by reducing our consumption of goods made of raw materials and committing to recycling whenever possible.
What?
Most recently, I’ve embarked on a big PLASTIC UPCYCLING project, where I’m turning plastic trash into sculptural installations that inspire and raise awareness about preserving our precious natural resources.
How?
Through grant writing and crowd sourcing, I’ve acquired four plastic recycling machines that are compact and portable, allowing me to create upcycled plastic sculptural installations in schools, arts centers and public settings. The machines are only one component of a much larger initiative... to create art using recycled materials that transcend their history. I hope that all of my installations are first captivating, mesmerizing, inspiring and only subsequently does the viewer know that the materials were recycled.
You!
I am most interested in creating a site specific recycled plastic sculptural installation with your community where they would first be encouraged to collect plastic. We would then shred, inject, compress and extrude their upcycled plastic into sculptural parts to be included in the sculpture installation. The parts would then be installed, based on a site-specific design that I create.
The PopUpCycler
I’ve built a mobile upcycling unit to trailer my machines anywhere, allowing me to create upcycled plastic sculptural installations in schools, arts centers, neighborhood communities and public settings where the local community will (after being encouraged to collect plastic) deposit their plastic waste into one end and a new, malleable plastic would emerge from the other end.
For your community I would...
come as a visiting artist for 1-5 days
bring my PopUpCycler
show participants how to use my shredder and extruder
educate participants on ways to refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle
either allow participants to keep their plastic extrusion or guide them through a collaborative sculptural installation process
Participants would…
• be invited to collect, clean and bring #2 plastic jugs
• will cut and shred their plastic
• collaboratively conceive of their design
• extrude their designs into three-dimensional sculptural forms
• keep their sculptural installation for all of their school mates to enjoy forever
Compensation…
$500 per day, plus mileage
Feel free to email with any questions.
Scroll through to see some creative collaboration and upcycling in action!