These works were on view at Overland Partners, San Antonio, TX, February 9, 2018 – June 8, 2018. See statement below.
I am a magpie driven to collect and create shiny things. Plastic is a shiny thing and ubiquitous – everywhere. Unfortunately, this includes the oceans. It looks like shiny fish, and so whales eat it, but it provides no sustenance. It floats – it collects – it does not go away. My work plays with the idea that perhaps nature will adapt to this tragedy and use this abundant resource.
In this work, I have been treasure hunting too, as in the past I have been using my own refuse to create artworks. I have been wandering the streets picking up bits and pieces before they can be washed away and perhaps wind up in the oceans. These pieces I take back to the studio and incorporate into alternative life forms.
The forms on the wall become islands of trash life as viewed from an airplane, a comment on the congregation of trash in the gyre current in the oceans or as it washes up on islands such as Midway to create a new type of island. ~Margaret Craig, Artist Statement, Oceanic Plasticity
