One Way Street

My work explores the tension between the ubiquity and utility of plastic with its long afterlife and environmental toll. This jacket is made from 172 single-use multilayer plastic bags. It is part of a series of wearables that explores how we might change our behavior if we had to carry all the trash we made around on our backs. The jacket's intricate pattern flows into a 6-foot long train that begins to unravel at the hem, signifying whether we use plastic for 30 seconds or 30 years, it's all a One Way Street to trash.

The accessories are a necklace made from PTFE (Teflon) dental floss tied around obsolete computer cords. PTFE is in a class of chemicals known as PFAS that are extremely widespread because of their exceptionally useful properties: they are waterproof, heat-resistant, stain-proof, and immune to corrosion. Unfortunately this also makes them incredibly long lasting and problematic in the environment. I use PTFE dental floss, typically used for 30 seconds max, to point out that perhaps there are better and worse uses for such a powerful material.

Likewise, the cuff bracelet encapsulates the problem of medical waste. It is made from 299 single use plastic eye drop dispensers collected from a friend with a chronic medical condition. While no one would deny the importance of sanitary medical products, anyone who has visited a hospital or lived through a pandemic understands the magnitude of waste that we generate in pursuit of health. My work passes no judgment. Rather, I hope to inspire reflection and innovation that allows us to move forward as a society, keeping the things that work and improving on the problems we create.