Michael Dudgeon Link Plankton to Plastic: There and Back Again

Research
IMAGE: Acrylic Palette, Ink on A4 Paper
IMAGE: Juxtaposing Fluffy Dinosaurs with their Globular Counterparts
IMAGE: Rex, About to Pop, Acrylic on Torn Bubble Wrap
IMAGE: Creating Creatures, Digital Collages
IMAGE: Plankton Studies, Pencil on A3 Paper
IMAGE: Floobert, Hand-Sewn Plushy Toy, CuddleSoft Fabric Stuffed with Cotton Wool
IMAGE: Tucked In, Pencil on A3 Paper
IMAGE: All Tucked in and Nowhere to Go, Charcoal on Paper, 6'x5'

I looked at plastics and their multiplicity within the discipline of painting. I researched their origins in prehistoric life and the process by which it becomes plastic. Self-replication became an intriguing idea, thinking of the plastic as having a life-based through-line from animal to substance to substance replicating animal form. Thinking about material as an active part of making, I explored plastic to look at the ridiculousness of everyday objects masquerading as quotidian. The process posed some nihilistic thinking about my position in the Anthropocene: am I here to push plastic around, operating as an artist or a consumer?

Experience:

Being HUMAN 2021/22