As a child, I would walk over beaches and through fields and forests to collect beautiful shells, shimmering stones, feathers and funnily shaped branches.
 
Much later, after I had moved from Holland to South Africa, I found myself doing the same thing. Only to discover, that I started filling my pockets with trash instead of treasure.
 
Plastic from the Ocean.
 
Colourful and beautiful in its own tragic way.
‘Plastic Ocean’ is an art project, which I started to create awareness around pollution to try and prevent  ( or at least reduce) plastic pollution.
 
In making artistic sculptures out of the objects I find, I try to evoke an emotional response  from my audience by creating a contradiction.

A clash between initial aesthetic attraction and after a second look : repulsion and the realisation of the tragedy  trash causes.
 
Our beaches are covered in plastic confetti and there really is nothing to celebrate.
 
Words by Lysbeth Bijlstra
 
plastic-ocean.net
 
thirza schaap’s instagram