Eko Nugroho, Indonesia’s leading visual artist, has collaborated with such iconic and recognizable brands as Louis Vuitton and IKEA – now, he has created a piece meant to highlight the issue of the plastic pollution of our planet.
The Indonesian lifestyle hospitality group Potato Head commissioned Nugroho to create an artwork that is now going to be displayed at Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak. The work, called Bouquet of Love, is a 30-by-20-foot installation created completely out of reclaimed plastic waste!
Nugroho’s piece is colorful and fascinating – the intricate installation is meant to spotlight the current issues of plastic pollution, in the oceans and community spaces of Bali, as well as the rest of the country. To realize the project, the artist scavenged around the archipelago for all kinds of discarded objects, from plastic bottles to old electronic appliances.
An impressive 660 pounds of local plastic debris was transformed into the work with which Nugroho hopes will stress the critical need for waste management and conservation.
The weighty topic is not something new for the artist, who is known for relating his art to socio-political issues, particularly those concerning his home country. “I was deeply drawn to this project because environmental damage and pollution will have an effect on every aspect of life, not just art,” Nugroho told Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia.
“My love for Indonesia inspired me to create Bouquet of Love. Indonesia is a rich, magnificent tropical country, which is also experiencing dynamic growth and development.”
Art pieces centered around the issue of plastic pollution are a reminder that we most surely need. Every year, we produce around 300 million tons of plastic and dump around 8.8 million tons into the oceans. Sadly, around 91 percent of the plastic we produce is not recycled. The massive amount of plastic we generate and its consequences are grave for the environment, wildlife – and, without fail, us.
Displayed on the roof of the Escalier boutique at Potato Head Beach Club, Bouquet of Love is interestingly juxtaposed with the view of the Indian Ocean, which happens to be where most of the trash used came from. The artwork can be seen for a limited period of time – and it is certainly worth seeing in person.
Source: One Green Planet
Image Sources: Eko Nugroho and Potato Head Beach Club Bali/Facebook