Light It Up

The final trial of the lighting was done on the 26th June, using the blue LED string lights going up the back, the EL wire threaded through the milk bottles, and then a large camping light placed on the inside of the wave protected inside a plastic blue container, which also casts a nice hue and gives a glow from the inside so the whole wave is illuminated. We also have a smaller light (but is still very powerful) that we may add inside, but this decision will be made when in situ and depending on how dark the car park is.

The wave in itself is completed, however, we have left a gap in the large sheets of plastic that are sewn onto the sides so we can change the batteries that we will cable tie each time, the pallets we are attaching the wave onto need the top coat of black paint (this will conceal them), nail the frame at the base to the pallets using industrial staples, and also attach the trailing plastic to the pallets. This all has to be done when setting up, on location, so we will have to allow time to make these final adjustments.

Images are our own.

The Second Layer

After completing the first layer we attached the blue LED string lights onto the wave using cable ties to secure them to the bottles creating lines going up and down the wave.
Just before attaching them we measured out the length of the lights in relation to the size of the top of the wave (which is roughly 1.9h by 2.5w). We discovered we would need two more sets of string lights to cover and create the aesthetic view we wanted to achieve. With these on we continued to attach the second layer of bottles over the top of the lights. Attaching them using the same method as the first layer.

Once the back of the curve was finished, we were able to move on to attaching the front of the wave. We used milk bottles at the very front as these diffused the light from the EL wire and the light that would go inside the wave.

We threaded the milk bottles the same way as the other bottles, however, we also threaded the EL wire through them before attaching to the structure. This way the wire lit up more of the bottles and was easier to secure in the required places.

 

Its dark, cold and raining in the images above. But the wave must go on! Many bits of chocolate have been used in the making of this wave, as fuel for the makers 😉

Images are our own.

Creating the Structure (finally!!)

We have had so many setbacks in the process of actually forming the wave and the supporting structure. We have had contradicting advice in regards to building an armature, the best materials, whether it would stay up and be safe.
Not having experience with creating a sculpture this size before we have been unsure of which is the best advice to follow! In the end we went ahead and ordered one sheet of welding mesh, as this could be used in most of the possible ways of creating the wave, and we are running out of time and have to start the construction. (we can’t wait to get past all the struggles and actually see the installation coming together!).
We figured it would help us to see if the form would work, and be steady enough, by bending the welding mesh back onto itself and holding it in shape temporarily with rope and thin wire. (pictured.)

It was a real relief to return to our original idea for the armature and see that this structure resembled a wave!

As this design requires less plastics, the welding mesh makes up a lot of the form, it would save us a lot of time in trips to the recycling centre and washing of bottles. The mesh also creates a strong base for the installation.

As we were all happy with this structure we had to weld it together! I (Rachael) was a bit tentative at the initial thought of welding myself as was Bethan,  but I wanted to give it a go, and I figured it would be much more satisfying if we did all of the required tasks to form our wave, and welding was one of these things!  It turned out to be so much fun and was exciting to see our wave coming together! Below are the images of us preparing to and doing the welding, along with the settings of the welding machine.

(Note from Bethan: The welding has been my most memorable part of this. I was also feeling a bit freaked about welding, but it was empowering and lots of fun! A skill hopefully we will be able to use again in the future.)

Images are our own. In preparation for Light Nelson 2016

TED Talk on the Plasma Process

Plasma waste processing systems may be the next step in the right direction to reduce the tonnes of waste (plastics included) that get dumped and over time cause major effects on the environment. Plasma Processing reduces large amounts of toxic gases, waste, solid matter, plastics, and so forth and aids the recycling process of bringing the materials back to its original form to then in turn be made into something new.

This chemical reduction is already revolutionising the way major corporations are disposing of and where possible reusing matter in society, with the US Air Force Base operating a Plasma waste energy system. The next generation of air craft carriers called the Garold R. Ford-Class will have Plasma Waste Processing Stems on board. Plasma can also being used and developed to rid the world of some of the most toxic materials known to man,  chemical warfare agents. Plasma is also able to destroy refrigerant, an Ozone depleting substance (or super green house gas (which is 7,100 times stronger than carbon dioxide!)) For more information follow this link.

The only issue with Plasma and why governments are not already using it in everyday life, is that the share size and expense of an incinerator, or plasma plant, being at least $100 per tonne for the proper disposal of our waste, over twice the amount to have it taken to the landfill and buried.

To find out more about this fascinating topic please follow this link to find the talk by Tom Whitton on how Plasma can be used to help the environment through waste reduction.

To find out about Plasma waste possessors check out the article on ‘how stuff works‘ and the ‘pyrogenesis‘ website.

References:

Information retrieved from,

Whitton, Tom, – Chemical Engineer and former City Councillor, and TEDx Talk. “How Plasma Can Fix Our Waste Problem | Tom Whitton | TEDxMontreal.” YouTube. January 19, 2016. Accessed June 21, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VquomoGn4zk&feature=youtu.be.

Eco Friendly?

With the overwhelming amount of plastic waste being disposed into the oceans on a daily basis and the growing knowledge of this polluting the environment, some of the leading manufacturers have tried to combat this issue in the last decade by producing products with eco plastic. By developing lightweight plastic products that are supposed to break down rapidly, thus attempting to reduce the hazards to marine animals. However these so-called ‘biodegradable plastics’ aren’t the answer, according to the United Nations’ top environmental scientist, because they don’t behave as promised. Instead, the ‘greener’ plastics contribute to the problem of ocean plastic just as much as other varieties.

Jacqueline McGlade, chief scientist at the UN Environment Program, warns that biodegradable plastics are not the answer to the problem of ocean plastic. “It’s well-intentioned but wrong. A lot of plastics labelled biodegradable, like shopping bags, will only break down in temperatures of 50C (122F) and that is not the ocean. They are also not buoyant, so they’re going to sink, so they’re not going to be exposed to UV and break down,” she told the Guardian.

I find it ironic that the very items that are supposedly designed to protect the environment are destroying it, such as captured within this image. While the rest of the plastic has broken into smaller pieces ( which is far from ideal and extremely deadly for marine life), the one bottle that hasn’t the slightest indication of beginning to biodegrade is the one purposefully created to! As you will find in the research below, these biodegradable plastics are not up to the standards they are perceived to have.

Previous studies have shown that biodegradable plastic products do not break down more rapidly in landfills, now a United Nations Report issued in May 2016 outlines how these supposedly biodegradable plastics are not actually any different from normal plastics when placed in to the sea, in fact they may have worse environmental effects.
Ironically, some of the additives used to make plastic more likely to biodegrade also make it more difficult to recycle. This means the ‘green’ product can actually pose more of a threat to the environment than other types of plastic.
“When you start adding all of that [additives], when it becomes waste, they [the additives] become the enemy of the environment. As consumers we need to think of the use of plastic,” McGlade said.

Furthermore, in a recent UNEP report it was concluded that the adoption of products labelled as ‘biodegradable’or ‘oxo-degradable’ would not bring about a significant decrease either in the quantity of plastic entering the ocean or the risk of physical and chemical impacts on the marine environment, on the balance of current scientific evidence (UNEP 2015(a)). (information retrieved from UNEP (2016) Marine plastic debris and microplastics–Global lessons and research to inspire action and guide policy change. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi.)

To read the whole report follow this link http://www.unep.org/about/sgb/Portals/50153/UNEA/Marine%20Plastic%20Debris%20and%20Microplastic%20Technical%20Report%20Advance%20Copy.pdf

References:

Quotes and some text retrieved from, DiStasio, Cat, The Guardian, and habitat.com. “Biodegradable Plastics Are the ‘enemy of the Environment,’ Says Top UN Environmental Scientist | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building.” Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!. Last modified May 25, 2016. http://inhabitat.com/biodegradable-plastics-are-the-enemy-of-the-environment-says-un-scientist/.

Image One (comic) retrieved from, Granlund, Dave, davegranlund.com, and www.cagle.com. “Plastic Bag Bans.” http://www.cagle.com/. Accessed June 19, 2016. http://www.cagle.com/.

Image two retrieved from, DiStasio, Cat, and Inhabitat. “Unknown.” inhabitat.com. 2015. Online. Accessed May 2, 2016. http://inhabitat.com/tag/plastic-waste/.

Information retrieved 19 June 2016 from, UNEP (2016) Marine plastic debris and microplastics–Global lessons and research to inspire action and guide policy change. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi. http://www.unep.org/about/sgb/Portals/50153/UNEA/Marine%20Plastic%20Debris%20and%20Microplastic%20Technical%20Report%20Advance%20Copy.pdf

‘Big Yellow Bunny’

I came across this massive 13-meter-high work by Dutch installation artist Florentijn Hofman while researching for other artists using heavy materials to create large scaled installations, and the type of armatures they use to keen them stable and balanced. Hofman created this temporary sculpture near St. Nicolai church in the city center, was constructed out of  locally-manufactured shingles, a wooden armature, concrete and metal, with the volunteered  help of 25 craftmens from Örebro, Sweden. He apparently used a wooden armature.

Hofman sees the world as his ‘giant playground‘ and many of his installations are large scale replicas of toys and animals set within very public spaces as a way to challenge the concept of public space. By enlarging the scale of the installation, Hofman changes the viewers’ perspectives of both the installation and the space it sits in. In the case of the Big Yellow Rabbit, Hofman placed the sculpture as though it were dropped from the sky, resting naturally against the Engelbrekt monument. Using these deliberate positioning techniques, Hofman seeks to ask, “What is the use and purpose of public space?”

These images give a good perspective of the huge scale of this massive bunny! I feel we are  used to seeing installations near this size resembling animals, and are often  quite overwhelming and almost threatening. This might have something to do with our minds making a connection with the physics of how heavy the materials look, coupled with the size, we feel as if the installation couldfall onto us. In this work however the angle aids this tension, as it looks unstable, like a child has dropped it and it will soon topple over, however, because we also have a remebrance to this item, or design we feel an instant connection through the recognition through the object.

We want our wave to have to give the audience a feeling of awe, an understanding of the concept, and also the sense of tension in terms of the overwhelming issue of plastics in the oceans, but at the same time not make the viewer uncomfortable.

References:

Some text and information retrieved from,

Meinhold, Bridgette, DesignBoom, and Florentijn Hofman. “Big Yellow Bunny Made From Local Swedish Materials is Easily the Size of a Building! | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building.” Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!. Last modified August 23, 2011. Accessed June 6, 2016. http://inhabitat.com/big-yellow-bunny-made-from-local-swedish-materials-is-easily-the-size-of-a-building/.

Images retrieved from,

Hofman, Florentijn, and Lasse Person. “Stor Gul Kanin (Big Yellow Bunny).” inhabitat.com. 2011. 2011 openART Biennale in Örebro, Sweden. Accessed June 4, 2016. http://inhabitat.com/big-yellow-bunny-made-from-local-swedish-materials-is-easily-the-size-of-a-building/.

Waves of Inspiration

With the idea of creating a giant wave out of recycled plastic bottles for our Light Nelson project, one of our tutors suggested looking up this work by Korean artist Jean Shin.

Shin created this sculpture “Sound Wave” (2007) created by melting vinyl records. The construction and the idea of using recycled materials is what is relevant to our project, rather than Shin’s concept. Her idea of creating a large scale wave is very similar to how we plan to create our own installation out of recycled plastic.

Images retrieved from, Shin, Jean. “Jean Shin Sound Wave, 2007, Melted 78 rpm records on wooden armature.” http://www.jeanshin.com. 2007. Installation at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, 2007 . Accessed May 26, 2016. http://www.jeanshin.com/soundwave.htm#.

Revolutionary Design

While scrolling through facebook (as you do!) I found these two excellent videos that a friend had shared and got me thinking about this project.

The videos are information about a South Florida company who saw what the plastic six pack can holders were doing to the environment, especially ocean life and so decided to design edible, biodegradable holders, (for people and the animals!).

 

Most people think that cutting the plastic up into small pieces will ensure the creatures won’t get tangled up within them, but actually it is worse, as they can then ingest the small particles.

The small company are hoping that bigger corporations will catch on to this revolutionary idea and bring them into circulation.

Below are the links to the videos on this information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM78yB26Kw8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YG9gUJMGyw

Image retrieved from, Raiche, Ryan, and Salt Water Brewery. “South Florida brewery designs edible six-pack holder to save environment.” http://www.abcactionnews.com. 2016. Accessed May 26, 2016. http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/hillsborough-regional-news/south-florida-brewery-designs-edible-six-pack-holder-to-save-environment.

Experimentation with Armatures

We decided that it would be a good idea to start experimenting with the form of the wave and the underlying structure. Below are the examples of some maquettes using thin rods. Our first attempt we used a hot glue gun to bind each individual piece, while it held loosely together, it was not ideal and would not be a strong structure that we could work with.

(Image 2) After testing the hot glue gun and it not being satisfactory, we decided to try spot welding points of the structure together. We found this to be a lot firmer, and created a very strong armature.

 

A close up of the results of the two different temperature settings on the spot welder.

(Image 3 and 4) The two settings tested on the joined piece above. Because of how they were held with being spot welded setting the heat to 1 and 5 worked best, whereas 1 and 6 nearly burnt through the metal. However when welding the corners of the wave structure we had the spot welder set to 1 and 6, as 1 and 5 wasn’t hot enough to go through and join the two pieces of rod at an angle.

Images are our own.

Interesting Links

While researching for relevant images for examples of plastics  damaging our waters ways and oceans, I came across an interesting article talking on celebrities in particular Leonardo DiCaprio, engaging with a call to action on restoring and pretesting our environmental habitat. It is quite encouraging to know that someone with so much influence is trying to make a difference, by creating charities to help keep what we have left of the habitat.The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, as DiCaprio commented, “is dedicated to protecting biodiversity in our oceans”, the actor also promised to support the work of Oceans 5, which is also a charity working to stop the main threats facing the 5 oceans world-wide.

To find out more about these organizations go to http://oceans5.org or  http://leonardodicaprio.org

The article was feature in BOAT Magazine, the link is provided below.

References;

Article, quote, and some text was retrieved 9 May 2016 from, Dickens, Zoe, and BOAT Magazine. “Leonardo DiCaprio donates $15 million to environmental charities.” BOAT Magazine, July 16, 2015. http://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/people-parties/leonardo-dicaprio-donates-15-million-to-environmental-charities–26985

Image retrieved 9 May 2016 from, Creative Commons: NASA, 2010, and http://leonardodicaprio.org/. “The Earth seen from space. Creative Commons: NASA, 2010.” http://leonardodicaprio.org/