Louise Mok

Waste-ing away

“12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year” (the Guardian), whilst “sea levels have been rising twice the annual rate in the last 20 years” (National Geographic). This project aims to advocate for the conservation of marine life.

This is to be achieved by constructing a chandelier that is reminiscent of a jellyfish and made from second-hand materials such as climbing rope, old season yarn, rope offcuts and DIY metal. Charity shop denim is utilised to bring attention to the “7000 litres of water it takes to make one pair of jeans” (V&A: Fashioned from Nature exhibition), while old bike wheels form the tiered frame of the chandelier. Collections of seaweed, plastic rubbish and shells from Brighton Beach have been suspended in bio-resins to form embellishments and lightbulbs. This alludes to how sea levels will rise by “50 meters or more, if the world burns all its attainable fossil fuel resources” (National Geographic). Renewable solar power illuminates these bulbs.