Imogen Davis

Plastic retail packaging, produce bags, reclaimed canvas frames, cotton thread, dowel. 88cm x 61cm x 7cm.

While we are mostly alone in healing nature of our actions, fungi could be our saviour. Fungi has always been a vital part of the ecosystem, such as with its role in breaking down dead organic matter to redistribute nutrients back into the ecosystem, but as we explore the many abilities of various species, the potential to solve our plastic issues at both ends becomes more realistic. Mycelium can be formed into specific shapes for packaging and certain types of fungi have been found to be able to consume plastic, sparking a new realm of potential for fungi to become our newest ally.

Plastic retail packaging, reclaimed canvas frame, cotton thread. 76cm x 101cm.

Our dependence on plastic - a highly versatile and very cheap but extremely difficult to responsibly dispose of material - is overwhelming. It will sit for eternity in our land, seas, and bodies. The fossils we admire for their extraordinary age know nothing of this material, comprised of the thoroughly processed remains of their kin and subsequently rejected by the landscape its raw materials came from.
We will need to find solutions to handle what has already been produced. Maybe utilising its versatility to fuse and re-form it into eternal artworks is part of the solution.

Plastic retail packaging, excess plastic bag stock, reclaimed canvas frames, cotton thread. 80cm x 80cm x 5cm.

Depending on who you ask, red skies at particular times of day can be a sign of the weather to come. But as global warming increases the frequency of extreme weather events, we might need to amend the adage for increasingly dangerous bushfire seasons. The constant burning of fossil fuels to power our lives is leading us to a world where we more often see red sky all day, bringing with it unclean air and threats to our respiratory health.
Every day, clouds form as easily and naturally as thin sheets of overstock plastic consumables contract under heat, and for now it is picturesque.