Plastic Bag Exploration

I looked at all the plastics bags that where planning up in my house from ordering clothes online during the lockdown, them sitting there and waiting for me to find them a second life. I wanted to use as found materials within my project and explore their artist qualities. This started with me looking at how I can maybe transfer an image onto the surface of the bag, to visually work with contrasting images like nature on plastic bags and maybe even vive versa.

Using a photo transfer gel to transfer images I took off trees, I attempted this process without any expectations as I knew it might react different from the plastic. This in fact did happen; when I tried to rub away the paper for the image to transfer without all the paper, it all started to coming off straight away so I decided that leaving the images as is the best option. I then cut away a layer of the plastics bags and turned them inside out to be bake to see the images right side up. I explored showing this on a tree trunk as well as inside the house. The in side exploration included the use of a project to show a video of fast moving trees.

Photos of transferred image on plastic bags – some photos with the projector exploration too!!

I moved onto looking at the bag itself and how using it to hold stuff that it wasn’t meant for might transform it. I used red glitter that gave it a flashy and decorative feel, capturing something thats easily binned in a state similar to treasure. I documented this with photos, thinking that the PVA I used created interesting folds that held their shape unlike the usual flimsiness.

Next I also looked at the bag as a material to transform with the help of natural found material; soil, stones, branches. I used the bag to hold the natural materials and visually create a prison like space for them. I think these where successful in conveying the stark compensation of materials that I wanted to highlight with my work.

I used more found material in the bags – anything I could find in my garden. I hanged the bags from a fence to see how it would transform the relation as the bag suddenly help something many would consider as trash from the garden.