About the exhibition
Environmental artist Alison McDonald has spent many hours manipulating the humble plastic bottle, and collecting thousands of plastic lids to make a variety of unimagined and impossible creations inspired by plants, oceans and John Wyndham’s book The Day of the Triffids.
McDonald’s artwork sits at the junction of sculpture, consumer culture and environmental concern; utilising multiples of individual recycled materials to create new forms and perhaps re-shape our thinking about plastic and its effect on our environment. McDonald’s own version of the Triffids manipulate plastic bottles into large and colourful-looking plants to such an extent that their original form is lost, whereas large-scale works such as Flow and Global leave the original form intact so we can see the impact of small plastic items on an enormous scale.
By converting masses of everyday objects into visually aesthetic conceptual discoveries, McDonald’s artwork communicates the optimism in regenerating rubbish, whilst raising questions about the relationship we have with plastic and its supposed sustainability.
Artists
Alison McDonald
Resources
Wanton, Wild & Unimagined: Interview between Louise Martin-Chew and artist, Alison McDonald
Wanton, Wild & Unimagined: education resource
Download
Tour dates
Acknowledgements
A travelling exhibition organised by Umbrella Studio contemporary arts, toured by Museums & Galleries Queensland. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program; and supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments.
