A message in a bottle is traditionally a sign of distress, something a person throws into the sea when trapped on a desert island.
Now, according to artist Jean Scuderi, the ocean is sending us signs of its own distress by throwing the waste plastic dumped there back onto beaches.
Scuderi, a French artist living in Taiwan, has decided to use such waste to create art which specifically highlights the issue.
The French artist is repurposing the term “message in a bottle” to reflect the fact that the ocean now has an important message for us.
No materials from Scuderi’s atelier get thrown away. Each part of a plastic water bottle can be reused in his works after he shapes them into a workable status with heat.
Plastic ribbons cut from bottles are made into sticks that combine to make strong structures which form bigger artworks.
Scuderi’s “Tree of Ignorance” is one work made with recycled plastic bottles.
Its base is composed of plastic sticks, its trunk and branches with cut-down bottle parts and the leaves are made from torched and melted plastic tags.
The artist also uses his works to reflect his view of human relationships with animals. Holding a rearing plastic horse he says:
Some of Scuderi’s works portray a sense of peace, such as this plastic Buddha.
Scuderi has lived in Taiwan for over a decade. He shows his artworks on Instagram via the account “messageinaplasticbottle”.
