2021 Edition

Plastic is now found in those places once thought to be untouchable. From thedeepest of sea floors to the highest of atmospheric winds, plastic lingers,accumulates, and permeates. Plastic is an inevitable part of our environment, ingrained upon Earth’s geology.In the planet’s seas, it takes the form of the Plastisphere; a living, animated ecosystem— a suspended composite of waste, assembled by the ocean.The Plastisphere is inhabited, and it is thriving.An inconceivable diversity of organisms, from bacteria to algae live here, clinging tothe plastic, within a vast sea where surface area is scarce but vital. They eat here, theyreproduce here — they have an entangled community here. For its inhabitants, thePlastisphere is a gestating watery body, migrating with the currents of the sea.Our project asks: what might we learn from the reality of the Plastisphere? That is,those species who have turned waste into wealth. Those species who have no choicebut to live in what we’ve left behind, and so have chosen to adapt, to be opportunistic,and to thrive.This project is grounded in an emerging body of research on the novel ecosystem ofthe Plastisphere. We believe this research to be a profound opportunity to discuss therelationship between humans, plastics, and other species.