Coastal Cleanup
Piece made from litter collected in the wetlands in Sunnyvale. Structure: metallic wire, wood.
2015
This version: 72”(h)x54”(w)x19”(d) – can be adapted to other dimensions
Statement for the piece
This piece is made of all the trash collected in the wetlands in Sunnyvale a few weeks ago. My collect was possible with the help of Jackie Davison, who works at the Environmental Services Department in Sunnyvale. I met with Jackie at school; she was giving a much needed presentation about the watershed in my children’s class. Our paths crossed many times since then.
The bay is stunningly beautiful but if one looks closer, some places are littered with lots of trash, most of it being plastic, which is a real problem because it does not biodegrade. Plastic is not recognized by the organisms that normally break organic matter down.
I moved to the bay area 5 years ago and since then I developed different works about water (videos, collages, drawings). I created participative installations about the ocean, and I mostly use materials that can be reused or recycled. Living in Sunnyvale, close to the bay, I am very interested in knowing this fragile eco-system. I took my family – and my students – on a tour of the water pollution plant to learn about how the water we use in homes, stores and businesses, is treated before going to the bay. I volunteer for annual coastal clean-ups of the bay.
I work with Montalvo Arts Center on arts integration programs for which I develop projects about water. This Spring I am teaching in Campbell “the Water Project” to classes of 2nd graders. The project proposes different art exercises about the watershed, the drought, the water cycle, our water consumption, the pollution of the oceans by the plastic.
michele guieu 