Chris Jordan
Chris Jordan is a photographer based in Seattle, America. For more than a decade he has focused his and our attention on the consequences of mass consumerism-photographing mountains of discarded electronics in landfills and the decomposing carcasses of Laysan albatross that have died from ingesting plastic. On the basis of close and thorough field investigation, Jordan and his team have aroused the public concern on the global issue of ocean plastic pollution by means of photography. Featuring real and documentary stories, his work shows the power of gripping people’s hearts. His empirical spirit and commitment to environment protection command my great admiration, and I have drawn inspiration from his Midway series for my art project about Plastic Pollution issue.
Chris Jordan’s work explores the collective shadow of contemporary mass culture from a variety of photographic and conceptual perspectives. Edge-walking the line between beauty and horror, abstraction and representation, the near and the far, the visible and the invisible, Jordan’s images confront the enormous power of humanity’s collective will.
Such a sense of conflict is precisely what I take in to consideration during creation. Through re-creation, the unique transparency and glory of plastic are intensified by refraction of artificial and natural light, which provides a sharp contrast to the original state of these plastics, abandoned garbage. Plastic bottles are a telling comment on the desire of people. Woven into huge and extending alien shapes (abstract body), these bottles turn into the overwhelming desire itself, shining and beautiful, alluring people, but also wrapping and oppressing them. At this moment, invisible desire and visible material are intertwined into the daily portrayal of modern civilization.
Art works are usually mirrors of the real world.
Olafur Eliasson
“It is not just about decorating the world… but about taking responsibility,” Olafur Eliasson said of his practice in a 2009 TED Talk. he believes that art can have a strong impact on the world outside the museum.
“It is not just about decorating the world…but about taking responsibility,” Olafur Eliasson said of his practice in a 2009 TED Talk. he believes that art can have a strong impact on the world outside the museum. I think, this is why I regard Eliasson as one of my favorite contemporary artists. Besides groping about the possibilities of vision, he does his utmost to affect the world with his art works and behaviors. Developing from his interest in light and in the environment, Eliasson has launched projects addressing sustainable energy and the climate emergency.
Ice Watch
In 2015, Eliasson’s work Ice Watch consisting of 12 floating glacial ice chunks was displayed on the place du panthéon, Paris. By this direct and artful means, he hoped to bridge the gap between the environment issue and the public. When thousands of people passed by, noticed and touched these blocks coming a long way from Greenland, something began to change. “It’s a beautiful, disturbing, dying monument to where we are right now,” writer Rebecca Solnit posted on Facebook. “People are coming by fascinated, most needing to touch the ice.”
The ice blocks are undoubted better carriers of communication than massive data, news or videos. Each block is unique, and their arrangement as a watch serves as a reminder of the time. Hardly having a chance to travel to the Arctic, the city people were stunned and impressed when being brought face-to-face with the nature in a public space in a metropolis. From another perspective, these huge chunks of ice are actually the epitome of the global glacier only with the clock ticking faster. As a result, people would witness the whole process of ice disappearing. But in fact, it may take many years for all glaciers to melt away.
Like his other works, Eliasson again delved into the concept of “dimension”. Due to differences in dimensions and experiences, people naturally over-perceive or have no awareness of a series of events. This is rather inspiring for my own creation.
My idea for plastic issue is the same, namely, our dependence and excessive consumption of plastic reflect our over-perception. However, people seldom realize that these daily behaviors will generate enormous consumption which probably accompanied with devastating results. Therefore, this invisible discussion of “dimension” has been integrated into my own works. For example, a single plastic bottle is small and inconspicuous, but when tons of bottles are combined together, they bring about an amazing effect. People are forced to re-examine and adjust their perception and understanding of daily affairs, individual behaviors, and a series of events.
Samuelle Green
The works of Samuelle Green is rich in natural beauty. In her view, there is structure and design inherent in the natural world which we constantly draw from and take for granted. We generally fail to acknowledge the skill, time, and detail required to manifest the intricate structures found in objects we encounter regularly -- such as those found in bird and wasp nests, beehives, spider webs, rock formations, anthills, feathers, and countless others. Samuelle’s work, especially the large scale installations, reference these forms – inspiring contemplation. These natural forms are often met with human made, found objects. Her installations continue to grow and manifest in exhibitions internationally.
Manifestation Shanghai, China 2019
In 2019, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to hold an exhibition with Samuelle when I witnessed the whole process of her installation from scratch. Her control and understanding of spatial structure have amazed me. It is her profound understanding and wonderful use of those natural structures that give simple constructions and materials to full play.
Wherever Samuelle goes to exhibit, she will collect a large number of wasted books locally for secondary processing, making them part of the whole work.
The paper composing these books, carrying human memory, history, knowledge and culture, are processed into a huge artificial landscape in a simple and natural way. As is known to all, paper is derived from the nature and invested with human civilization under industrial processing. But in the end, thanks to the artist, it is again presented in a natural form—this is an interesting cycle.
On the other hand, such a localized creation method has enabled Samuelle’s works to grow with each exhibition, and acquire civilization marks of different regions.
All of these have been a great source of inspiration to me. Plastic is undoubtedly a global language used by people around the world. Small and inconspicuous, a plastic bottle is actually the product of petroleum which has been deeply buried underground over billions of years. On the assembly line, the plastic bottle is granted with the most distinctive features of the consumerism age: practicability, convenience and affordability. However, the reprocess and recombination disintegrate their original attributes, revealing an invisible property behind the material, that is, human’s desire.
Nele Azevedo
Nele Azevedo, a Brazilian sculptor, whose global urban art action “Minimum Monument” also inspires me a lot. Thousands of ice men were left to melt at the same time in the public areas of some cities for the purpose of warning people of the severity of global warming. This work threw the audience to the scenario where global warming indeed threatened human survival. Its anti-monumental and temporary nature fill the work with ritual and vitality.
Nele’s work is similar to “Ice Watch”. The melting ice and strong sense of immersion both close the gap between the global warming issue and the public. But there is one major difference, that is, Nele engaged the public in her work. The giant ice blocks of “Ice Watch” were transported from Greenland by professional team, so the public were more likely to be spectators during the whole life-cycle of work. “Minimum Monument”, instead, were created by the artist team and the local community. Everyone passed by could take part in the production and placement of ice men under guidance. This way, as far as I am concerned, greatly enhances the public property of the art work which was then turned into a public event. It not only expands its common influence but also makes local people part of the work.
As regards my own creation, I also take the public participation into account. For example, I tried to collect waste plastic products from local families and schools, and asked donators to fill in file cards, so that more people, particularly the younger generation, would comprehend the relation between plastic pollution and our daily life. In the course of creation, I often invite many local volunteers to work with me. I believe these processes tend to significantly extend my works.
Gerhard Richter
The German artist Gerhard Richter exerts positive influence on my artistic creation. He suffered sorrow in childhood (his father and uncle were Nazis, and the uncle died in battle soon after joining the army), and trauma brought by the special age (his sister starved to death in Nazi concentration camp for psychiatric patients). These experiences serve as one of focus points in his artistic exploration, and are the projection of the individual in a special political environment. His works deliver a strong sense of mission. Richter tries to grasp broader visual information and possibilities through plenty of blurred images instead of clear ones.
MV. 1 2011 10 cm x 15 cm Overpainted Photographs
Different from many renowned artists holding a signature style, Richter’s works are admirably varied. In my point of view, an outstanding artist should dare to venture out the comfort zone, braving new challenges and seeking breakthroughs. In my opinion, environment problems are often the projection of social issues. For example, the marine plastic problem is not only about the ocean pollution; it more reflects the over consumption and unlimited desire of modern people. And this is a common psychological problem of our time.