Artists Sail 1000 Nautical Miles To Collect Plastic, Then Transform Them Into Works Of Art - Atchuup!

Artists Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami of Studio Swine recently sailed 1000 nautical miles from the Azores to the Canaries via the North Atlantic Gyre. But it wasn’t just a leisure trip, the artists had a much meaningful reason for the voyage – and that is to collect discarded plastic.

Studio Swine

The two brought along a machine, a ‘Solar Extruder’ that they designed and built that melts and extrudes sea plastic by harnessing the power of the sun. The melted plastic are then crafted into 5 beautiful works of art.

Studio Swine

Check out their short film, Gyrecraft, to get a better feel of the project.

Gyrecraft / Studio Swine

Groves and Murakami explain:

“Gyrecraft is an exploration into maritime crafts which exists in every coastal or island culture around the world each with its own unique identity, utilising what the sea provides. Many of these crafts took place onboard boats during long voyages as a way of making vital repairs or passing the time at sea.”

“In the swirling gyre, most of the plastics have broken down into tiny fragments which are spread over massive stretches of the Ocean. Due to their size, they are incredibly difficult to recover in any large quantity making this once disposable material very precious. In the Gyrecraft collection Studio Swine uses sea plastic as a valuable and desirable material reminiscent of turtle shell and corals. The 5 objects represent the 5 major Ocean gyres.”

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Now check out the stunning artworks!

North Atlantic Gyre, 2015
Sea plastic, reclaimed mahogany, rope, brass