Using Art to Draw Attention to Ocean Plastic Waste

(Bloomberg) -- As told to Bloomberg News

What concerns me most now is the ­increasing plastic waste dumped in the ocean. I made an art piece about ocean pollution, and during my research I was shocked by how bad it is.

The piece was a 4-meter-long fish made from transparent plastic, and it was full of plastic rubbish in the fish’s body. I wanted it to show that marine animals are dying from waste that isn’t supposed to end up where they live. People have a very unrealistic vision of the ocean: beautiful, clean, blue, and sunny. However, it’s become as polluted as, if not more than, other places.

Why haven’t we agreed to ban or put more restrictions on ­plastic use? We can have alternative materials, but companies, governments, and individuals still think in the old ways when deciding what should be done: profit and cost.

I hope one day ­everything we use is degradable, from clothes, toys, and packages to even houses. It’s not sci-fi; it would be technically possible. The question is, do we want to make some sacrifices to achieve the goal?

As an artist, I’m happy to see people get curious about my work. One day when I was showing one of my art pieces, a wedding dress made from masks to raise ­people’s awareness about air pollution, the security guards in the street came over. In China, any street activities that would potentially attract people will catch the attention of the authorities, but the security guards didn’t stop me that day. One said to another, “That’s the artist who wears strange wedding dresses for environmental protection. I have read her story.” I was very moved. I think one of the things artists could do is to inspire. If artists are making art that’s unrelated to current and urgent problems facing our society, then what kind of art is that? Translated from Mandarin

Kong Ning is a Chinese performance artist and painter

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