This work is called “Plastic Stone Tiles – The Nature of Waste”. These are tiles consisting of post-consumer plastic waste.
Origin of the work were the questions, “What is waste?” and “Where is ‘away’?”. Waste is something subjective. What is considered waste in one place or situation can be a resource under other conditions? Waste is unused material. And there is no such thing as ‘away’. The majority of plastic waste ends up in the sea. This gave rise to the question of how plastic waste behaves in nature.
Under natural influences, it forms plastiglomerate. A compound of plastic and natural geological components. It is a new kind of rock. Based on this, I investigated rock-forming processes and developed methods to give lightweight packaging waste a natural-looking rock-like structure. By focusing on the post-consumer plastic waste I want to change the perception of waste and show its unique aesthetics.
I thus increase the value of disposable packaging waste and make it accessible as aesthetically pleasing and durable material. This work should give impulses to rethink the general understanding of resources and to stimulate an exploration of materials. With regard to the reduction of natural resources, we must consider waste more than ever as a resource and as a continuous step in a never-ending process, rather than the end of a product’s life.
