Plastic Futures

In her multi-disciplinary art-led design studio Renuka Ramanujam works between the worlds of printmaking, bio-based design and textile techniques, aiming to raise questions that will move us to a more caring and inclusive society.  

Jessica Giannotti is a marine scientist, artist and fashion entrepreneur. She founded Crùbag in 2013, a Scotland-based interdisciplinary textile design studio and materials innovation lab merging ocean sciences and art. Crùbag’s mission is to celebrate the unseen beauty of our planet, promote marine science education and the sustainable use of the ocean.

Plastic Futures

Plastic Futures is a collaborative vision questioning the future of our marine ecosystem. The piece was made as part of an ongoing collaboration about microplastic pollution between designers Jessica and Renuka, with the fresh insight of primary school pupils of Taynuilt, Scotland. Using monoprinting and collage techniques, a selection of the students’ thoughts, hopes and fears were meshed with Jessica’s and Renuka’s responses to create a chaotic ensemble of hope, desperation and uncertainty. Add climate change to the mix, and the ensemble becomes explosive and potential scenarios imminent. Coloured frames add structure and a link between nature and a more urban environment as well as the shifting boundaries in habitats caused by climate change. The children are the future, and we as humans have important choices to make. The future is still undecided.