What will happen with the marine environment, if we keep on polluting the oceans with plastic? Famous sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor wanted to draw our attention to marine pollution with his provocative art installation. In front of the National Theatre on London’s Southbank Jason placed a dystopian vision of a family picnic on a beach plagued by plastic pollution. Part of his artwork is constructed with microplastics, which were collected along the shores of Lanzarote. The installation should request consumers, policymaker and packaging producers to cut back on the use of plastics.

Jason deCaires Taylor about his art installation

“Through my work I’ve seen first-hand the deluge of plastic on our coastlines and swirling around our seas. The build-up of a man-made material like plastic in the vast expanse of our seemly untouched oceans is a visceral reminder of humankind’s devastating impact on our environment. Through Plasticide I want to bring this message back to home: our oceans, and the marine life which inhabits them, literally can’t stomach any more plastic.”

Claim for plastic reduction

Greenpeace Ocean Campaigner Louise Edge found out in her research, that 90 percent of seabirds now have plastic in their stomachs. Predictions forecast, that plastic will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050. She stated: „The problem highlighted in this sculpture would have seemed surreal fifty years ago, but it’s now a grim reality. All plastic is made on land and it’s here we need to see action to reduce the flow of plastic into our oceans.”

Duration of the installation: 23rd March – 6th April

Location: National Theatre, London, UK