Duplicity

Artist Statement

An estimated one million plastic bags are consumed worldwide each minute. These high-density polyethylene materials can take anywhere from twenty to one thousand years to degrade; and even then they simple break down into smaller particles which soak up toxins and contaminate soil, waterways, and ultimately animals. 

Duplicity works to juxtapose organic shapes and materials with the man-made qualities of plastic. With the help of two Arduinos and approximately sixty LEDs, these contrasting elements come together to form a pulsating living organism. It then becomes duplicitous and seemingly two-faced, as an animate being fluttering with life, while each bulb is formed from a shiny toxic substance that is quickly leading to the death of many living creatures. The base, from which the orbs sprout, is made of clay, drawing attention to the fact that most plastic bags end up collecting toxins in the soil and making their way into the oceans.

Sofian Audry is an artist making kinetic objects that confront the occurrence of man-made objects (in his case, electronics) interacting with nature. His series, Absences, takes shape “the frontier of new media and land art; it proposes a mediation on… natural and artificial, biological and inanimate.” Duplicity functions in a similar way, combining organic and acquired materials, while making the stagnant bags come to life. This growth of a lifeless material relates to Living Objects, made by the Jason Krugman Studio. Here, LEDs radiate through a semi-opaque skin, bringing to life a human sculpture. Lights function similarly in Duplicity, where they partially shine through and animate the figure, while drawing in the viewer.