Oceans of Plastic by hekts

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Margaret Mead American Cultural Anthropologist

Oceans of Plastic SHELIA ROGERS

It has been a pleasure to get to know Shelia Rogers and learn about her amazing endeavors as an artist and environmentalist. She is quite versatile in moving easily between photography and sculpture, both of which take a special eye and require very different skill sets. She is quite meticulous as an artist. With her sculptures, every work is precise and the efforts that go into collecting, cleaning, and assembling the pieces is incredible. Shelia has always had a connection to nature and the environs of our coastal South Texas area. You will not meet anyone who is more committed to cleaning up our coast, living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, and inspiring others to do the same. If “actions speak louder than words”, Shelia is living that saying at decibel levels that would hurt one’s ears! She is more than just passionate about our environment and all the creatures that inhabit it. She is truly an activist, but often gentle in her approach. When you view Shelia’s art, you will be drawn in and then stunned at what you are seeing. I have always responded to color and her work captured me the first time I saw it. Once drawn in, she provides a message that you must respond to. I encourage everyone viewing her works to spend more time and let the message speak to and move you. We can all do more to help our environment, and by doing so, leave a better world for generations to come. Joseph B. Schenk

Director, Art Museum of South Texas

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for Dinner? 10

As a young marine scientist, I focused most of my studies in the field and took lots of students on field trips. Hands-on, field oriented learning was the best way to inspire and engage our Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students. However, as my career progressed over the past 40 years, I became more and more disgusted with the trash I saw in our coastal and ocean environments of Texas and Mexico. This marine debris, the name it is officially given by state and federal agencies, got so ubiquitous that it not only looked bad, but it started affecting marine life. This marine debris, mainly plastics, affects some animals in minor ways, but to others it is lethal. Some sea turtles eat plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish, a normal part of their diet. These bags then clog their digestive system, and the turtle starves to death. Sea birds eat floating plastic debris, mistaking it for food, and die with their digestive system completely clogged with indigestable plastic. Shelia Rogers had a similar experience to mine via her love for the sea and beachcombing. With her passion for the sea and coastal environments she now uses her amazing artistic talent in a mission to inform the public about the plight of marine habitats and species caused by all the plastics in the ocean. I join with Shelia, the Art Museum of South Texas, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and others to raise the awareness of Oceans of Plastic. John W. (Wes) Tunnell, Jr., PhD

Associate Director and Endowed Chair of Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Fulbright Scholar and Professor Emeritus

After the Storm 1 12

After the Storm 2 13

The heart of my work is environmental advocacy, seductively exposing the real and devastating effects of plastic pollution on the world’s oceans. The intent of my work is to raise awareness of this pressing consumer and environmental issue, while motivating viewers toward a plastic use reduction revolution. This deep rooted passion stems from a spiritual rhythm of beach combing I have exercised for years, where, while collecting shells, I have often contemplated the interconnectedness of our oceans with every living thing. Over the years, I have collected thousands of shells from around the world, as well as from the local bay shore one block from my home. However, in recent years, as plastic material began replacing the shells I once found in abundance on the shore, I found a refinement in the focus of my beach combing, and an alteration in the direction of my art practice. I became drawn toward documenting the condition of the beaches with their assemblage of plastic debris deposited by the waves. My new spiritual routine became gathering and cleaning the plastic debris, and ultimately making art objects from this material. In the work, the plastic is sorted by color, secured in large acrylic boxes, and displayed in an arrangement of complimentary colors. From a distance, the beauty of the color-coded organization lures viewers into a fanciful encounter with interesting art pieces. Yet upon closer view, the shocking revelation of single use plastic trash manifests itself.

The effects of this pollution cause irreversible damage. Worldwide, over sixty billion tons of plastic are produced each year, the majority of it being single use items that are thoughtlessly tossed away every day, everywhere. This number becomes even more disturbing when we learn that these “disposable” items are not, in fact disposable. “Disposable” refers to an article intended to be thrown away after use. The problem with plastic, however, is this: it doesn’t go away. Every article of plastic that has ever been manufactured, used, and discarded still exists in one form or another. This accumulation of plastic refuse is rapidly smothering our land, our oceans, our resources, and endangering marine life. Plastic never dissolves, it never biodegrades. It accumulates, and creates a cascade of destructive effects everywhere it lands. Through my work, it is my intent to educate viewers about these dangers of plastic in our marine environment. I want to provoke viewers toward a reduction of single use plastic and toward making small lifestyle changes that reduce the overall amount of plastic waste making its way into our environment. Plastic pollution is a huge problem, but by changing our habits even slightly, we can create a cleaner and more sustainable world. Each one of us will make a difference if we can only be brave enough to be mindful.

The intent of this interplay is to reveal the deception presented to us by the influential proponents of plastic products, as well as the effects that plastic has, both on the environment, and ourselves. My work not only reveals this disturbing reality, but also records the frightening equation that our production and use of plastic grows in sync with the growth of human population, eventually moving us toward the destruction of our ecosystem. 15

Dinner Party

Rings from Things

Sippy Straws

Writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Block

The Pause that Refreshes

Skip the Straw 30

Black Beach

Entanglement

Got a Light?

Taking regular walks to the water’s edge exposed Shelia Rogers to the natural treasures found in many forms and textures. She has long been a beach person; one who loved the sand, shells, sky, wind and culture experienced there. Beginning as a child on family vacations, Shelia collected shells, rocks and fish bones on her sojourns to the shores. In the decades since, she amassed her own treasure trove of specimens. Their groupings can be seen in her home and studio. They fill volumes of vessels and represent her search and time spent in their acquisition. Rogers, a fine art photographer, initially saw and isolated the most arresting arrangements of nature through her lens. As the natural keepsakes became more and more scarce she began to see in her photographs what had taken the place of the many shells, sand dollars and sea beans. It was plastic. There at her feet brought in by the wave action was bright, colorful plastic, so terribly beautiful and yet so out of place. These pieces crept into her photographs. Shelia’s attention to these plastic elements gave her a new direction, which culminated with these colorful invaders . Soon thereafter, her subject and her chosen art materials became single-use bottles, plastic rings, caps, straws and tabs found in the sand and sea grass at the water’s edge. Included in the exhibit are large-scale color photographs and assemblages made from singleuse plastics collected from local shorelines. An 8 ft. vertical format photograph depicts in the foreground a vast array of plastic rings and caps on a narrow beach front with the skyline of Corpus Christi in the distant background. At first glance the focused foreground is a festival of color; in the background looms a local well-known business tower slightly blurred. Then one notices that the festival of color is actually a blight.

In 2008, the artist began to include what she was seeing in her photographs. Rogers began picking up much of the plastic that she saw on the shorelines of Corpus Christi Bay. Depicted in multiple colors, her art soon came to include these immaculately cleaned collections, pristinely presented, in monochromatic masses of red, blue, yellow, orange and purple plastic. These “collections” she categorized into transparent Plexiglas boxes hung on the wall, presented as a photograph or painting would be shown. Rogers was astounded by the volume of single-use items in primary and secondary colors found on the shore. Now in her art, their effect is to awaken the viewer to what is on our shores. Knowing that the items depicted are collected locally and for the most part, from single-use items brings the global impact home to the individual. The awaking agent is the artful organization of culled and cleaned, separated and placed found plastics. The plastic elements are carefully arranged assemblages. Once our attention has been focused on Oceans of Plastic, what will we retain from the experience? “I can do one thing,” is the approach for an educational outcome, which Shelia Rogers and the Art Museum of South Texas have talked about for the viewer of the Oceans of Plastic exhibition. Rogers and the museum hope that viewers will be inspired to stop the use of single-use plastic items in their daily lives. Deborah Fullerton Curator of Exhibitions, Art Museum of South Texas

Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depends on what we do now. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Sylvia Earle Oceanographer

WH AT C A N Y O U , A S O N E P E RS O N D O? Invest in a few stainless or glass reusable water bottles.

Keep them filled with water from your tap to take with you wherever you go. If your home’s tap water is fluoridated, chlorinated or otherwise unsafe, install a water filter on your tap. At public events and at home, offer pitchers of water.

Collect a stash of reusable shopping bags.

Keep some by your backdoor, your car, your bike or backpack so you won’t forget them when you take off to the grocery store or mall. Use reusable produce bags, too.

Take your own ceramic or stainless mug with you on your daily coffee run.

Not only will you be saving the environment from Styrofoam, plastic lined paper cups and plastic lids, many places give you a 10% discount for your proactive gesture!

When ordering takeout, ask restaurant to skip the plastic utensils.

It may seem small, but these add up. Every time you decline utensils, you also have an opportunity to politely share why. Get a set of reusable flatware that you can carry with you. Keep a set in your car and in your office as well.

Take reusable containers with you for takeout and restaurant leftovers. In addition to plastic and Styrofoam containers being bad for the environment, putting hot food in these containers can be toxic to your health.

Say, “No straw, please.”

Tell your waiter or waitress that you don’t need one, and be sure to specify this when ordering at a drive-thru. If you do need a straw, purchase a reusable stainless steel or glass drinking straw to carry with you.

Buy food items in glass jars. Save them and reuse them to store pantry items and leftovers.

Buy grocery items from bulk bins as much as possible and take your own reusable containers. You will save money and unnecessary plastic packaging.

Use matches instead of plastic lighters or invest in a refillable metal lighter. Make your own cleaning products.

They will be less toxic, save you money and eliminate the need for multiple plastic bottles of cleaners.

Use cloth diapers. Pack your children’s lunches in reusable containers and bags.

There are lots of good choices online. Also, opt for fresh fruits and veggies and bulk items instead of products that come in disposable single serve plastic containers.

Spread the word!

Talk to your family, friends and co-workers about the problem and what they can do to reduce their use of disposable plastic.

Organize beach cleanups. Create a conversation on social media.

¿QU E P U E D E S H A C E R T U ? Adquiere algunas botellas de acero inoxidable o de vidrio.

Manténgalas llenas con agua de su canilla para llevar contigo donde vayas. Si su agua de canilla contiene fluor, cloro o no está seguro, instale un filtro. Cuando vaya a eventos públicos, ofrezca botellones de agua.

Junte bolsas de supermercado reciclables. Almacena algunas cerca de la puerta trasera, su auto, su bicicleta o bolso de modo que no los olvide cuando vaya al supermercado. Utilice bolsas reciclables para su frutas y verduras.

Cuando toma su café diario, lleve su propio tazón de cerámica o de acero inoxidable, No solo cuidara el medio ambiente de plásticos y vasos de espuma, pero muchos negocios te darán un descuento del 10% por su actitud proactivo.

Cuando ordene comida para llevar, dile al restaurant que no incluya los utensilios de plástico.

Parece ser algo diminutivo, pero los utensilios poco a poco van agregando al problema. Cada vez que Usted decline los utensilios, le da la oportunidad de difundir el porqué. Consiga un juego de utensilios que puede llevar contigo a todos lados. Deje un juego en su auto u oficina.

Lleve cajas reciclables a los restaurantes para llevar su comida.

Guárdelos y utilícelos para guardar comidas.

Compre sus comestibles en bultos lo más posible y traiga sus bolsas reciclables. Ahorrara dinero y evitara el uso de empaquetaduras de plástico.

Utilice fósforos o un encendedor de metal y no encendedores de plástico. Fabrique sus propios productos de limpieza. Serán menos tóxicos, te ahorrarán dinero y eliminarán la necesidad de muchos contendores de plástico

Utilice pañales de tela. Empaque el almuerzo de sus niños en contenedores reciclables.

Hay muchas opciones online. A su vez, opte por frutas y verduras frescas en vez de productos envasados en contenedores de plástico.

Divulga esta información

Hable con su familia, amigos y compañeros de trabajo sobre este problema y que pueden hacer ellos para reducir su consumo de plásticos desechables.

Al poner comidas calientes en los contenedores de plástico o de espuma, estos le ponen su salud en riesgo.

Organice limpiezas de su playa.

Dile “No gracias” a las pajitas.

Genere una conversación en las redes sociales.

Dile al mozo o moza que no necesita y asegúrese de indicar esto si utiliza el “drive thru”. Si necesita una pajita, cómprese una de acero inoxidable o de vidrio.

Compre comestibles en jarras de vidrio.

E XH I B I T I O N C H E C KL I S T 10.

What’s for Dinner?, 2011 Plastic Mexican Cloralex bottles 3 at 8 x 3 x 3 inches each

22–23. Rings from Things, 2012 Plastic drink rings, Plexiglas 20 x 20 x 5 inches

12.

After the Storm 1, 2008 Archival inkjet print on canvas 80 x 54 inches

24–25. Untitled, 2011 Archival inkjet prints, acrylic, wood 20 at 16 x 16 x 3 inches each

13.

After the Storm 2, 2008 Archival inkjet print on canvas 80 x 54 inches

26.

Sippy Straws, 2014 Plastic Capri Sun straws Overall dimensions vary per installation

16–17. Dinner Party, 2014 Plastic bottles, Plexiglas 22 x 70 x 4 inches

27.

Writer’s Block, 2014 Plastic pens Overall dimensions vary per installation

19.

Red, 2009 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 36 x 36 x 3 inches

28–29. The Pause that Refreshes, 2014 Plastic soda bottles, Plexiglas, wood 3 at 78 x 45 x 30 inches each

Turquoise, 2010 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 18 x 36 x 3 inches

30.

Yellow, 2010 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 36 x 36 x 3 inches

31–33. Black Beach, 2014 Beach plastic Overall dimensions vary per installation

Purple, 2010 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 18 x 36 x 3 inches

34–35. Entanglement, 2014 Monofilament fishing line Overall dimensions vary per installation

Blue, 2009 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 36 x 36 x 3 inches

36–37. Got a Light?, 2014 Plastic lighters, Plexiglas 2 at 20 x 48 x 3 inches each

Orange, 2010 Beach plastic, Plexiglas, wood 18 x 36 x 3 inches

40.

20.

21.

Skip the Straw, 2014 Plastic straws, Plexiglas 80 x 16 x 16 inches

Post-it notes, 2014 Table, chairs, Post-it notes, pencils Overall dimensions vary per installation 43

AR T M U S E U M O F S O U T H T E XA S S T AFF Joseph Schenk, Director Sara Morgan, Assistant Director Sheri Emerick, Development Officer Susana DeVacque, Accountant Vicki Beck, Administrative Assistant Deborah Fullerton, Curator of Exhibitions Linda Rodriguez, Curator of Education David Hill, Preparator Angela Schwengler, Senior Secretary Karol Stewart, Coordinator of Community Services Joe Fish, Database Assistant

A C KN O W L E D G ME N T S First and foremost I would like to thank my husband Rick, for his constant encouragement, wisdom and advice...and especially for his patience early on when I first began hauling mounds of dirty plastic trash home from my beachcombing adventures, spreading it all over the kitchen for weeks, cleaning and sorting, long before the birth of the idea of creating an art exhibit. A special thanks also goes to my children, Eryn, Emily and Rick. I am also deeply indebted to one of my exceptionally gifted teachers, Keith Carter, who made me aware of the transformative power of art to promote awareness and inspire change. He encouraged me to use my talents and my art to do just that. I am profoundly grateful to Lynda Jones and Creative Capital of New York for their early support and encouragement and to Jo Vann Weichert for her insights and thoughtful contributions throughout the creation of the exhibit and this book. I would like to thank the numerous people who organized beach cleanups and have assisted me at my studio with the arduous task of cleaning thousands of pieces of plastic in preparation for an exhibit, especially the members of the local chapter of Surfrider Foundation, Marine Biology students from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Harte Research Institution, University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Girl Scouts Troop 9665, interns from the Texas State Aquarium and many, many, many friends!

I am so grateful for the generous grants for my traveling exhibition and the publication of this book from the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Coastal Bend Community Foundation and Harte Research Institute. This has also been made possible through the generosity of many individuals, Dede McMahon, AEP Texas, Peggy and Avanish Ahuja, Phyllis Allen, Lana and Barry Andrews, Nan and Allen Borden, Patsy and Garnett Brooks, July Buckley, Mary and Charles Campbell, Louise Chapman, Charleen and John Chesshir, Madlyn and Anthony Constant, Judy and John Creveling, Ann and David Engel, Nancy and Ben Eshleman, Fran and Joe Fulton, Sally and James Gill, Deborah Greer, Kim and Matt Hammer, Kathleen and Pat Horne, Linda Jordan, Karen and Harold Kane, Susan and Stephen Karp, Liz and Brad Lomax, Annette and Mel Klein, Barbara and Sterling Morris, Patty and Hank Nuss, Ted Oakley, Linda and Robert Pate, Michelle and Dick Perry, Anna Aguilar Reimer, Rick Rogers, Sharon and Jim Sedwick, Jenny and Phillip Skrobarczyk, Celika Storm, Catherine and Sam Susser, Daryl and George Tanner, Marcy Taylor, Lorraine and Chuck Volk and, Kathleen White. A final thanks goes to Hector Marroquin for his collaborative inspirations and wonderful design work in the development of this book. Shelia Rogers

Copyright © 2018 by Shelia Rogers, All rights reserved. Oceans of Plastic, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit Catalogue design by Héctor Marroquín Printing by Jayroe Printing Photography by Shelia Rogers, Barbra Riley & Raymond Gray