The harms of plastic are well documented and new solutions to lessen our plastic output make the headlines week by week but the problem persists. To do his part, photographer Henri Blommers created a series that beautifully illustrates the human impact on the environment without the usual doom-and-gloom associated with climate change PSAs.
Speaking to Lens Culture, Blommers said that Plastic Utopia came about during a collaboration with three other artists. Not only did they document symbols of human waste in otherwise pristine environments, but they also explored the concept of “photographic waste”.
“I considered the aesthetics of this work very carefully. Some of my previous series had dark, almost muddy images. I felt that people were not looking at them. I had long discussions with fellow artists about this problem,” Blommers said. “I realised how often viewers disengage from work that is important but also ubiquitous – when you talk about politics, waste, or environmentalism, it is easy for people to disconnect because they are inundated with information on these topics.”
Blommers’ series masterfully combines the beauty of nature and the reality of trash. “I making it too beautiful, too aesthetically pleasing? Perhaps I am, and yet perhaps this is a good way of forcing people to reflect on the subject.” he added.
