Swapna Namboodiri uses PET bottles—the most commonly found source of pollution —to make marine themed art works


A cancer survivor has entrusted Doha-based artist Swapna Namboodiri his thermoplastic, mesh radiotherapy mask. He wants it made into the Welsh dragon as a memento of his survival. “His wife refuses to let it into their house. But he didn’t want to let go of it, so he searched the Internet for an artist who could refashion it and found me,” says Swapna. She is working on it, and will complete it once she is back home in Qatar, after her vacation in Kochi.

The mask is a first for the artist who uses plastic bottles as a primary medium. Not only are Swapna’s sculptural artworks part of private collections, they are also on show in three online art galleries—Artfinder, Saatchi and Etsy; last year she showed her work at the Tokyo International Art Fair and held a solo exhibition at Doha. Next month she will show at the Amsterdam International Art Fair.

“The exposure, and response, in Tokyo was great. I was the only artist who had recycled plastic as art.”

Swapna uses the most commonly found source of pollution — PET bottles. The choice of material was deliberate, given its impact on the environment and her focus is recycling and sustainability. In order to reinforce her message, she makes marine-themed art works — corals, shells, bubbles on the ocean surface, ocean blooms, and anything else on National Geographic that inspires her.Read more

Source web page: The Hindu


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