Works from the Plastic Ocean series

Drawing on the aesthetics of commercial product advertisements, dividing her time between Cape Town and Amsterdam, Dutch photographer Thirza Schaap creates elaborate tabletop sculptures made of debris collected from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. A beachcomber at heart, Schaap has long been drawn to collecting natural materials, including seashells, rocks, and twigs, on frequent waterfront walks near her studio. Yet, due to the massive proliferation of plastic waste on shorelines everywhere, recently she has often found herself gathering bits and pieces of plastic. As an artist-activist committed to living plastic-free as much as possible, Schaap began collecting these fragments not only as a clean-up effort, but also as an act of creative recycling. With an astute eye, she arranges her compositions into increasingly abstract and whimsical shapes, often incorporating dried plants, seaweed, and found textiles. 

At once seductive and disquieting, Schaap’s images serve as reminders of the endless stream of this obstinate material that saturates contemporary life and floods the earth’s waterways. Once considered to be an invention fueling progress, convenience, and efficiency, plastic has turned out to be the enemy of people and the planet. Schaap writes, “Our beaches are covered in plastic confetti and there really is nothing to celebrate.” The ever-growing “garbage patches” floating on the planet’s oceans are testament to the detrimental effects of prioritizing convenience and consumption. With their bold, alluring colour schemes and playful, inventive qualities, the images in Plastic Ocean straddle a fine line, pulling the viewer in while quietly raising the alarm, warning of our current predicament.

The Canada Line Art Program – InTransit BC is presented by Wesgroup Properties

Presented in partnership with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and the Canada Line Public Art Project – InTransit BC