It is characteristic of waste to go ‘away’: into the gutter, black rubbish bags, bins and trucks, never to be seen again. It conveniently disappears from our visual radar. The exhibition “Beyond Plastic” does the opposite: It brings back marine pollution into our view and into the city where it originates from. Sponsored by the marine watch-maker Breguet, and supported by charity organisation Plastic Free Seas, the trash-scape was installed at the prestigious Heritage1881 site in Hong Kong for HK Art Week 2019. Over 10,000 pieces of plastic waste were collected from Hong Kong’s shores and curated into a large sea of colour. This is one of liina’s signature art pieces of trash-land-art.
“I’m only making this apocalypse look good so that you pay attention. Plastic in its single-use cannot be justified: not with a rainbow, not with convenience, not with money or time, not with ignorance. We cannot avert our gaze any longer, but need to stop the flow at source. It is the only way.”
