How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans
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0:02 - 0:04This is Sian Ka'an.
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0:04 - 0:08Just south of Tulum
on Mexico's Caribbean coast, -
0:08 - 0:10it's a federally protected reserve,
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0:10 - 0:12a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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0:12 - 0:15and one of the most biodiverse
regions on the planet. -
0:15 - 0:17But when I first visited in 2010,
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0:17 - 0:20I was horrified and completely confused
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0:20 - 0:23as to why the beach was covered in trash.
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0:23 - 0:27I soon realized that it was floating in
from all over the world. -
0:27 - 0:30I've since returned,
after that first journey, -
0:30 - 0:31several times a year
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0:31 - 0:34to visit Sian Ka'an,
to the country of my birth, -
0:34 - 0:35to work with this trash.
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0:35 - 0:36And so far,
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0:36 - 0:41we've documented garbage from
58 different countries and territories -
0:41 - 0:42on six continents,
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0:42 - 0:46all washing ashore
in this paradise in Mexico. -
0:46 - 0:49Although I can never know
where a product was dropped, -
0:49 - 0:53I can, at times, based on the label,
know where something was made. -
0:53 - 0:57In red, you see all of the countries
represented by their trash -
0:57 - 0:58in Sian Ka'an.
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1:00 - 1:04Such as these Haitian butter containers
in all shapes and sizes, -
1:04 - 1:05Jamaican water bottles.
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1:05 - 1:09Not surprisingly, a lot of the stuff
is from neighboring Caribbean countries, -
1:09 - 1:11but the stuff is from everywhere.
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1:11 - 1:13Here's a sampling
of international water bottles. -
1:13 - 1:16And one of the ironies is that
a lot of what I'm finding -
1:16 - 1:19are products for cleaning
and beautification, -
1:20 - 1:23such as this item from the United States,
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1:23 - 1:25which is actually made
to protect your plastic, -
1:25 - 1:27(Laughter)
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1:27 - 1:29shampoo from South Korea,
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1:29 - 1:31bleach from Costa Rica
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1:31 - 1:33and a Norwegian toilet cleaner.
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1:33 - 1:35And it's items that are all
very familiar to us, -
1:35 - 1:39or at least I hope you're familiar
with these toothbrushes. -
1:39 - 1:40(Laughter)
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1:41 - 1:42Kitchen utensils.
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1:44 - 1:45Toys.
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1:46 - 1:50I'm also finding evidence
of burning plastic trash, -
1:50 - 1:53which releases cancer-causing
fumes into the air. -
1:53 - 1:56People ask what's the most
interesting item that I've found, -
1:56 - 1:59and that's by far this prosthetic leg.
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1:59 - 2:03And in the background, if you can see
that blue little bottle cap, -
2:03 - 2:04at the time that I found it,
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2:04 - 2:07it was actually the home
to this little hermit crab. -
2:07 - 2:08This guy is so cute.
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2:08 - 2:09(Laughter)
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2:11 - 2:13(Laughter)
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2:14 - 2:18And it's these fascinating objects,
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2:18 - 2:20but also horrifying objects,
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2:20 - 2:21each with their own history,
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2:21 - 2:25that I use to make my ephemeral,
environmental artworks. -
2:25 - 2:28And it all started with this image
in February of 2010, -
2:28 - 2:30when I first visited Sian Ka'an.
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2:30 - 2:34I noticed that blue was the most
prevalent color among the plastic. -
2:34 - 2:37Purple is actually the most rare color.
It's kind of like gold to me. -
2:37 - 2:39But blue is the most prevalent,
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2:39 - 2:40and so I gathered some of the blues
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2:40 - 2:43and made this little arrangement
in front of the blue sky -
2:43 - 2:45and blue Caribbean waters.
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2:45 - 2:48And when I took a photograph
and looked at the test shot, -
2:48 - 2:51it was like a lightning bolt
hit me in that moment, -
2:51 - 2:53and I knew I was going
to have to come back -
2:53 - 2:56to create a whole series
of installations on location -
2:56 - 2:58and photograph them.
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2:58 - 3:00So this turned out to be a sketch
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3:00 - 3:04for a work that I completed
three years later. -
3:04 - 3:06I had no idea that almost 10 years later,
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3:06 - 3:09almost a decade later,
I'd still be working on it. -
3:09 - 3:11But the problem persists.
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3:11 - 3:13So I'm going to show you
some of the images -
3:13 - 3:18from the series that I called "Washed Up:
Transforming a Trashed Landscape." -
3:18 - 3:21Please keep in mind that
I do not paint the garbage. -
3:21 - 3:24I'm collecting it
and organizing it by color -
3:24 - 3:26on the same beaches where I find it.
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3:34 - 3:38This is my precious trash pile
as seen in 2015 -
3:38 - 3:42after putting on a first edition
of the "Museo de la Basura," -
3:42 - 3:44or "Museum of Garbage."
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3:44 - 3:48It's fully my intention
to care for this garbage, -
3:48 - 3:49to exalt it,
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3:49 - 3:50put it on a pedestal
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3:50 - 3:51and to curate it.
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3:51 - 3:54We have all seen devastating images
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3:54 - 3:56of animals dying
with plastic in their bellies. -
3:56 - 3:59And it's so important for us
to really see those -
3:59 - 4:00and to take those in.
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4:00 - 4:04But it's by making aesthetic --
some might say beautiful -- arrangements -
4:04 - 4:06out of the world's waste,
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4:06 - 4:08that I'm trying to hook the viewer
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4:08 - 4:12to draw in those that might be numb
to the horrors of the world -
4:12 - 4:15and give them a different way
to understand what's happening. -
4:15 - 4:18Some have described
the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -
4:18 - 4:20as an island twice the size of Texas,
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4:20 - 4:22but I've been told that it's hard to see
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4:22 - 4:24because it's more like a smog.
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4:24 - 4:26So through my artwork,
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4:26 - 4:30I attempt to depict the reality
of what's happening with our environment -
4:30 - 4:32and to make the invisible visible.
-
4:33 - 4:35My key question at first,
after starting the project, -
4:35 - 4:38was, "What do I do
with the garbage when I'm done?" -
4:38 - 4:42I was told by some
that it could be damaged goods -
4:42 - 4:45after traveling across the ocean
and being exposed to the elements, -
4:45 - 4:50that it could become degraded
and potentially ruin a batch of recycling. -
4:50 - 4:54The landfill was not
a happy resting place, either. -
4:54 - 4:56And then finally, it dawned on me,
-
4:56 - 4:59after all of the effort by me
and all of the people who have helped me -
5:00 - 5:02collect and organize and clean this trash,
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5:02 - 5:03that I should keep it.
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5:04 - 5:06And so that's the plan,
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5:06 - 5:09to use it and to reuse it endlessly
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5:09 - 5:10to make more artwork
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5:10 - 5:14and to engage communities
in environmental art-making. -
5:15 - 5:19This is an example of a community-based
artwork that we did last year -
5:19 - 5:22with the local youth
of Punta Allen in Sian Ka'an. -
5:22 - 5:26A key part of the community work
are the beach cleans -
5:26 - 5:28and education programming.
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5:28 - 5:30And as this community
around the project grows -
5:30 - 5:33and as my trash collection grows,
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5:33 - 5:36I really believe that
the impact will as well. -
5:36 - 5:37And so, over the years,
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5:37 - 5:41I've become a little obsessed
with my trash collection. -
5:41 - 5:45I pack it into suitcases
and travel with it. -
5:45 - 5:47I take it on vacation with me.
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5:47 - 5:49(Laughter)
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5:49 - 5:51And in the latest work,
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5:51 - 5:55I've begun to break the two-dimensional
plane of the photograph. -
5:55 - 5:57I'm really excited about this new work.
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5:57 - 6:00I see these as living artworks
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6:00 - 6:03that will morph and grow over time.
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6:03 - 6:07Although my greatest wish
is that I run out of the raw material -
6:07 - 6:08for this work,
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6:08 - 6:09we're not there yet.
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6:09 - 6:11So in the next phase of the project,
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6:11 - 6:14I plan on continuing the community work
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6:14 - 6:16and making my own work
at a much larger scale, -
6:16 - 6:19because the problem is massive.
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6:20 - 6:26Eight million tons of plastic waste
enter our oceans every year, -
6:26 - 6:28destroying ecosystems.
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6:29 - 6:34Right now, as I speak, there's literally
an oil spill of plastic happening. -
6:34 - 6:40I see this project as a plea for help
and a call to action. -
6:40 - 6:43Our health and future
is inextricably linked -
6:43 - 6:44to that of our oceans.
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6:44 - 6:49I call the project "Washed Up:
Transforming a Trashed Landscape," -
6:49 - 6:50but it's actually transformed me
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6:50 - 6:54and made me rethink
my own behaviors and consumption. -
6:54 - 6:57And if it can help anybody else
gain more awareness, -
6:57 - 6:59then it will have been worthwhile.
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6:59 - 7:00Thank you so much.
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7:00 - 7:03(Applause)
- Title:
- How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans
- Speaker:
- Alejandro Duran
- Description:
-
Alejandro Durán uses art to spotlight the ongoing destruction of our oceans' ecosystems. In this breathtaking talk, he shows how he meticulously organizes and reuses plastic waste from around the world that washes up on the Caribbean coast of Mexico -- everything from water bottles to prosthetic legs -- to create vivid, environmental artworks that may leave you mesmerized and shocked.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 07:17
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Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans |