'Regrowth' beach plastic coral in blue

'Regrowth' inspired by the idea of our sea beds making a comeback . This beach plastic reef growing from a base of plastic lids shows that nature wants to recover, if only we would give it a chance.

Made from hundreds of pieces of trash collected on Sussex beach cleans including plastic bottle lids, nerf gun pellets, cotton bud sticks, straws, nurdles and bio beads, fishing gear and security ties.

*10% will be donated to Sussex Seabed Restoration Project*

I’ve been pondering waste lately. By 2030 we need to have halved our global emissions to have a hope of mitigating the worst of the climate crisis. By 2050 we need to be carbon neutral. I don’t trust our government to lead us in achieving that goal but I do believe in people power and in small changes making a big difference. If we all aimed to reduce our personal carbon footprint by 50% over the next 7 years we could make a huge impact. Thinking about how we use transport, how we heat our homes and what we consume and waste and making changes to reduce our impact could genuinely save the world. 

Small things like choosing to shop small, shop local, eat seasonally. Buy less, buy secondhand (Oh hi Vinted I love you!). Thinking about everyday eco replacements and swapping to a renewable energy provider, eating more veggie and vegan options, walking more and opting for the train over the car. No mow May and the odd beach clean will help balance things out too. 

I’m starting with small changes and building up to the big stuff - and hoping that electric cars and heat pumps become more feasible in the next five years. 

One of the things I’m focusing on is waste. I am not an organised person. I don’t plan and am Queen of blagging it. That means I waste things. Particularly food. So mission is on to really consider what I buy and what I waste. 

And this pondering has all come out in my art too. I’m looking again at the pieces I would usually chuck to the bottom of the box. The really matted bits of fishing gear, the gnarly bits and shattered pieces. The leftovers from school workshops. The waste waste. 

This rescued reef series is made from these rescued pieces while I think of what we could achieve by restoring our reefs. With this in mind, 10% will be going to Sussex Seabed Restoration Project, working to restore the kelp across our Sussex coast. 

Framed in a worn white 20cm open box frame (no glass so you can enjoy the tactile pieces)