Drape @ The Martyn Myer Arena 2024

Drape

Polystyrene, pigment and cable ties

5.3 × 3.3 M, 2024

Images courtesy of Matto Lucas

Drape is a site-responsive installation made from salvaged polystyrene, dissolved, pigmented and cast using handmade clay molds. The panels, connected by cable ties, symbolise the destructive cycle of capitalism, waste and environmental degradation. Polystyrene, a ubiquitous and toxic material, embodies both the organic origins of fossil fuels and the synthetic reality of modern production. Through scale and repetition, Drape explores the psychological and physical effects of consumerism, revealing the pervasive presence of plastics in our environment and bodies.

Drape detail with shadow

Polystyrene, pigment and cable ties

5.3 X 3.3 M, 2024

Martyn Myer Arena

Image courtesy of Matto Lucas

Drape

Polystyrene, pigment and cable ties

5.3 X 3.3 M, 2024

Martyn Myer Arena

Image courtesy of Matto Lucas

Drape is a site-adapted sculptural installation of handmade plastic panels secured together using cable ties. Each panel is composed of salvaged polystyrene, dissolved, infused with pigment, and cast from handmade clay forms. This toxic, non-biodegradable material symbolises capitalism spiralling out of control, our throw away mentality and the purposeful degradation of society to keep its cogs oiled.

In using these materials and through scale and repetition I aim to evoke the complex relationship between human actions and environmental impact and to represent the psychological and physical embeddedness of consumerism and our throwaway society. The segmented, imperfect form of the polystyrene, dense and translucent, embodies both the organic -within fossil fuels, and the highly synthetic -in its production and outcome.

Assembled like chain mail or a patchwork security blanket, this material underscores the pervasive and embedded presence of plastics in our lives and bodies.

In this form -hanging from the ceiling, the Drape becomes useless and contemplative, symbolising the stripping away of individual agency. Its dualisms—architectural and bodily, interior and exterior, dense and translucent, organic and synthetic, holes in the system and the passing through—mirror the complexities and consequences of human life and illustrate a desperate need for mutual aid and a shift in how we think about human co-existence with the non-human.

Drape emphasizes the urgency of developing survival strategies amid catastrophic climate events. Speaking to the crisis of the Anthropocene Epoch Drape resonates personally and culturally, serving as an act of decolonisation and de-othering, in which I hold myself accountable.