The Plastic Paradox

The world has been on a standstill for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It created a sudden
demand for protective sanitation products. The urgency of this demand resulted in environmental
concerns being shifted to the backdrop. As such the use of plastic, which was declining following
government regulations, shot up. Necessities of the pandemic such as masks, PPE kits etc. were all
manufactured in plastic, while daily goods were delivered in single-use plastic bags in the name of
sanitization, hence creating an entire chain of plastic usage.
Our installation aims to showcase the suffocating hold that plastic items have on the world as a result
of the pandemic and how the environmental concern has been given least priority. We also aim to create
a debate on demonizing plastic as a material- whether it’s the material itself or the thoughtless usage
that is the problem. As per our understanding of the brief, the installation must be homogeneous. Plastic
was chosen as a material due to its versatility since its malleable, ductile, compressible etc. The entire
installation will be made from reused and discarded materials. We have chosen to use only these items
made from plastic and its derivatives and focused on using majorly the materials produced specific to
the pandemic.
The installation can be divided into 3 parts: the base, the globe and the hand. The base is a mimicry of
the roots of a tree arranged in a haphazard way representing the strain of plastic on the environment.
The hand and the globe together portray the grip of plastic on the world. The globe is split in two halves,
partly showing the world map and representing the coronavirus strain. The hand has been made as the
largest part in which we have left slits from where the roots of the installation emerge. These appear to
be leaking out from the hand. The grip of the hand ends on globe. The hand is also an abstract
representation of a tree showing the irony by creating the natural element with the material that is an
environmental concern. The slits can be rotated on a central axis making the installation interactive
while demonstrating the changing foliage.
Since the time of disintegration of plastic is more than 80 years, it’s impact on the environment is
alarming and a concern to think about. However, plastic saved a lot of lives through the pandemic with
its products but with its projected impact on the environment- is it a Friend or a Foe?