Federico Uribe: "Plastic Reef"
Installation at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, Palm Beach, FL
January 9 - May 31, 2020
The Practice of Optimism exhibition features 25 sculptural and wall-hanging pieces, while Uribe’s installation Plastic Reef will be on view in a tent on the sculpture gardens’ East lawn. The installation a seductively beautiful “reef” made of bottles, cutlery, flip-flops and other plastic trash accompanied by a soundscape created for it by Brazilian artist Alvaro Alencar.
Uribe’s Ann Norton shows are supported by the Perry J. Cohen Foundation, whose mission includes environmental, marine and wildlife education and preservation.
For more information, call (561) 832-5328 or visit www.ansg.org
Visit the museum at 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year and because of plastic durability, it persists in the environment for centuries. Currently there is more plastic at the centers of our oceans than plankton. In short, our plastic waste is endangering our oceans, as well as the world’s coral reefs.
The plastic coral reef installation reproduces marine ecosystems made of used plastic tools. Daily plastic objects including bottles, bottle caps, plastic cutlery, flip flops among others, are weaved in curious and unpredictable, repetitive and almost compulsive ways. The artwork invites the viewer to reflect on the indiscriminate use of plastic and the disastrous impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems worldwide. It can also be viewed as an attempt of Mother Nature to replicate life with whatever is available and at hand. From a distance the assemblages appear to be colorful and beautiful underwater worlds. Up close, one can see the hundreds of pieces of plastic, which are carefully cut and arranged. The result is whimsical yet contains enormous efficacy and communicability. The idea is to reflect on Nature's pivotal presence, and in the process to give back to Nature what was taken from her: marine species and corals, which are endangered by the excessive consumption of plastic.
The installation awakens in the viewers a truly sensory experience, inspired by the artist's “aesthetic instinct” of beauty but at the same time it plays with a juxtaposition between whimsical subject matters - coral reefs and marine landscapes that are full of life - and a potentially destructive medium such as plastic. Distance, proximity and perception are key factors in the interconnection between my artwork and its viewers.
The artwork – which bursts with colors and transports the viewer under water into a tropical oasis - confronts the viewer with a vibrant underwater world that reminds us of the fragility of life. It is also inherently tied to Venice’s geographic location – being a city floating on the sea. The soundscape of the installation has been created by the multiple Latin Grammy-winning mixer, producer and engineer Alvaro Alencar in cooperation with 24-yr old Chilean musician and composer Sebastian Selam.