Plastic artworks on display in museum’s secret garden

Plastic waste has been transformed into colourful community artworks in a new display at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

The series of collages, made entirely from fragments of plastics washed up on UK beaches, highlight the problem of plastic pollution.

The artworks were created by members of the public at the Make Plastic History event organised by University of Staffordshire and the museum earlier this year.

Professor Claire Gwinnett is a world-leading expert in applying forensic science approaches to microplastic pollution.

She explained: “We know that this is a problem created by humans, and for the solutions to be effective they have got to come from people. The only way to do that is to educate and change people’s perceptions and understanding in a positive way so that they can be part of the solution to plastic pollution.

“This has been a brilliant collaboration with the museum. It’s fantastic to see the artwork in a public space and it’s so attractive that people will want to know more about the issue and the research that we do at University of Staffordshire.”

Professor Gwinnett has been involved in research projects on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Hudson and Mississippi Rivers and Long Island Sound in the US, farmland in Turkey and the UK, Hawaiian islands, Weddell Sea in Antarctic and rivers and coastal areas around the UK.

Funded by the SHAPE Involve and Engage Public Engagement Programme, Make Plastic History was a huge success, with the museum seeing over three times the average number of visitors through the door on the day.

Almost 70 artworks were made during workshops run by Cornish artist Dan Lewis and each one was photographed. A selection is now on display in the museum’s ‘Secret Garden’ area.

Co-organiser Laura Wilkinson, a Research Associate at University of Staffordshire, said: “We had feedback from visitors who said they loved the event and wanted more like it. They said that it was a really fun way to engage with the issue of microplastics and that they learned so much that they could takeaway.”

Artist Dan Lewis added: “The main impact our Make Plastic History event had on me was to witness the connections between people, hear their ideas, understand the action they are taking personally around plastics and know that they have hope and possibility about the future.”

Discover more about Professor Gwinnett’s research in her TEDx Talk A forensic scientist’s approach to microplastics.