Description of Work

WāStitch - 2022 - Plastic, vinyl, acrylic/wool, Adobe Suite - $100 / bag

Artist's Statement

WāStitch is a carefully crafted project that uncovers a way to purposefully reform single-use plastic bags. I discovered the connections between the plastic material I was researching and the repetition of its use. My thesis was created from process, time and intentions. Gathering old plastic bags, cleaning the material, preparing the bags to be cut, looping each cut section to form a type of yarn, and finally maneuvering each piece into the other to connect and piecing one section to the next allows one final product to recycle just over one hundred single-use plastic bags. The metaphors that reside throughout the process of this piece and the final outcome are strong and create an atmosphere to encourage you, the next person and me to take action. Plastic bags are incredibly stronger together than they are by themselves. With this, we can become more effective in reducing plastic pollution on our earth together than we can apart. A single plastic bag takes roughly half a millennium to photodegrade. The time and effort I spent creating these totes seemed to be never-ending, but to consider how long each of these bags would last polluting our earth was motivation to keep pursuing this piece. What used to be the most difficult plastic recyclable for facilities to recycle has developed into more than just a menace. It’s your new reusable tote bag.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)