[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.84,0:00:04.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Sian Ka'an.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.23,0:00:07.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just south of Tulum\Non Mexico's Caribbean coast,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.74,0:00:10.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a federally protected reserve,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.06,0:00:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.38,0:00:15.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of the most diverse\Nregions on the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.46,0:00:17.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I first visited in 2010,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.37,0:00:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was horrified and completely confused
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.80,0:00:23.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as to why the beach was covered in trash.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.10,0:00:27.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I soon realized that it was floating in\Nfrom all over the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.75,0:00:31.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've since returned after\Nthat first journey several times a year
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.51,0:00:33.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to visit Sian Ka'an,\Nto the country of my birth,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.93,0:00:35.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to work with this trash,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.56,0:00:40.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so far we've documented garbage\Nfrom 58 different countries and territories
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.11,0:00:42.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on six continents,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.48,0:00:46.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all washing ashore\Nin this paradise in Mexico.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.56,0:00:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although I can never know\Nwhere a product was dropped,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.39,0:00:52.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can at times, based on the label,\Nknow where something was made.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.80,0:00:56.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In red, you see all of the countries\Nrepresented by their trash
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.78,0:00:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Sian Ka'an,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.24,0:01:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as these Haitian butter containers,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.46,0:01:03.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all shapes and sizes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.77,0:01:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jamaican water bottles.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.01,0:01:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not surprisingly, a lot of the stuff\Nis from neighboring Caribbean countries,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.38,0:01:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the stuff is from everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.18,0:01:12.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's a sampling\Nof international water bottles,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.99,0:01:16.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of the ironies is that\Na lot of what I'm finding
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.58,0:01:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are products for cleaning\Nand beautification,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.08,0:01:22.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as this item from the United States,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.56,0:01:25.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is actually made\Nto protect your plastic.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.56,0:01:29.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Shampoo from South Korea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.23,0:01:31.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bleach from Costa Rica,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.52,0:01:33.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a Norwegian toilet cleaner,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.22,0:01:35.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's items that are all\Nvery familiar to us,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.87,0:01:39.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or at least I hope you're familiar\Nwith these toothbrushes.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.09,0:01:42.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kitchen utensils.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.18,0:01:46.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Toys.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.46,0:01:49.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm also finding evidence\Nof burning plastic trash
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.79,0:01:53.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which released cancer-causing\Nfumes into the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.25,0:01:59.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People ask what's the most\Ninteresting item that I've found,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.20,0:02:00.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's by far this prosthetic leg,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.34,0:02:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, in the background if you can see\Nthat blue little bottle cap,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.42,0:02:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the time that I found it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.95,0:02:06.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was actually the home\Nto this little hermit crab.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.93,0:02:09.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This guy is so cute.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.37,0:02:16.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's these fascinating objects
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.57,0:02:19.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also horrifying objects,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.92,0:02:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,each with their own history,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.42,0:02:25.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I use to make my ephemeral\Nenvironmental artworks.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.64,0:02:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it all started with this image\Nin February of 2010,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.76,0:02:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I first visited Sian Ka'an.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.30,0:02:33.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I noticed that blue was the most\Nprevalent color among the plastic.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.68,0:02:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Purple is actually the most rare color.\NIt's kind of like gold to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.04,0:02:38.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But blue is the most prevalent,\Nand so I gathered some of the blues
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.55,0:02:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and made this little arrangement\Nin front of the blue sky
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.20,0:02:44.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and blue Caribbean waters,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.99,0:02:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when I took a photograph\Nand looked at the test shot,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.54,0:02:50.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was like a lightning bolt\Nhit me in that moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.80,0:02:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I knew I was going\Nto have to come back
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.53,0:02:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create a whole series\Nof installations on location
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.44,0:02:58.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and photograph them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.01,0:02:59.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this turned out to be a sketch
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.73,0:03:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a work that I completed\Nthree years later,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.40,0:03:06.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I had no idea that\Nalmost 10 years later,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.38,0:03:09.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,almost a decade later,\NI'd still be working on it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.05,0:03:11.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the problem persists.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.44,0:03:13.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm going to show you\Nsome of the images
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.39,0:03:18.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the series that I called "Washed Up:\NTransforming a Trashed Landscape."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.37,0:03:21.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please keep in mind that\NI do not paint the garbage.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.10,0:03:24.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm collecting it and organizing it\Nby color on the same beaches
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.88,0:03:26.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I find it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.73,0:03:36.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is my precious trash pile,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.81,0:03:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as seen in 2015
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.33,0:03:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after putting on a first edition\Nof the "Museo de la Basura,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.14,0:03:44.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or Museum of Garbage.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.18,0:03:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's fully my intention\Nto care for this garbage,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.64,0:03:48.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to exalt it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.72,0:03:50.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put it on a pedestal,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.01,0:03:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to curate it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.56,0:03:53.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have all seen devastating images
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.93,0:03:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of animals dying\Nwith plastic in their bellies,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.20,0:03:59.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's so important for us\Nto really see those
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.10,0:04:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to take those in.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.60,0:04:04.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's by making aesthetic,\Nsome might say beautiful arrangements
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.58,0:04:06.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of the world's waste,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.13,0:04:08.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I'm trying to hook the viewer
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.63,0:04:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to draw in those that might be numb\Nto the horrors of the world
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.82,0:04:15.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and give them a different way\Nto understand what's happening.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.73,0:04:17.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some have described\Nthe Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.100,0:04:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as an island twice the size of Texas,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.60,0:04:22.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I've been told that it's hard to see
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.22,0:04:24.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's more like a smog,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.50,0:04:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so through my artwork,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.04,0:04:29.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I attempt to depict the reality\Nof what's happening with our environment
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.98,0:04:32.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to make the invisible visible.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.80,0:04:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My key question at first,\Nafter starting the project,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.24,0:04:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was, "What do I do\Nwith the garbage when I'm done?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.32,0:04:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was told by some\Nthat it could be damaged goods
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.80,0:04:45.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after traveling across the ocean\Nand being exposed to the elements,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.75,0:04:49.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it could become degraded\Nand potentially ruin a batch of recycling.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.17,0:04:54.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The landfill was not\Na happy resting place either.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.29,0:04:55.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then finally, it dawned on me,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.87,0:04:59.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after all of the effort by me\Nand all of the people who have helped me
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.73,0:05:02.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,collect and organize and clean this trash,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.27,0:05:04.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I should keep it,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.04,0:05:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so that's the plan,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.60,0:05:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use it and to reuse it endlessly
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.10,0:05:10.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make more artwork
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.61,0:05:14.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to engage communities\Nin environmental artmaking.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.17,0:05:16.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is an example
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.80,0:05:18.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a community-based\Nartwork that we did last year
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.97,0:05:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the local youth\Nof Punta Allen in Sian Ka'an,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.64,0:05:26.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the key part of the community work\Nare the beach cleans
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.29,0:05:28.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and education programming,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.26,0:05:28.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as this community\Naround the project grows,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.84,0:05:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as my trash collection grows,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.73,0:05:35.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really believe that\Nthe impact will as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.22,0:05:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, over the years,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.78,0:05:40.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've become a little obsessed\Nwith my trash collection.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.70,0:05:44.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I pack into suitcases and travel with it,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.93,0:05:47.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I take it on vacation with me,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.50,0:05:51.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in the latest work,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.38,0:05:54.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've begun to break the two-dimensional\Nplane of the photograph.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.98,0:05:57.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm really excited about this new work.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.17,0:05:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I see these as living artworks
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.91,0:06:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will morph and grow over time.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.97,0:06:04.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although my greatest wish
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.57,0:06:08.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that I run out of\Nthe raw material for this work,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.04,0:06:09.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're not there yet.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.55,0:06:11.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in the new phase of the project,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.42,0:06:14.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I plan on continuing the community work
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.04,0:06:17.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and making my own work\Nat a much larger scale,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.23,0:06:19.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the problem is massive.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.70,0:06:23.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eight million tons of plastic waste
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.19,0:06:26.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enter our oceans every year,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.13,0:06:28.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,destroying ecosystems.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.50,0:06:33.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right now, as I speak, there's literally\Nan oil spill of plastic happening.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.42,0:06:40.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I see this project as a plea for help\Nand a call to action.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.27,0:06:43.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our health and future\Nis inextricably linked
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.07,0:06:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to that of our oceans.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.82,0:06:49.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I call the project "Washed Up:\NTransforming a Trashed Landscape,"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.16,0:06:51.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's actually transformed me\Nand made me rethink
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.76,0:06:53.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my own behaviors and consumption.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.96,0:06:56.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if it can help anybody else\Ngain more awareness,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.100,0:06:59.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then it will have been worthwhile.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.15,0:07:01.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you so much.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.09,0:07:03.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)