"Plastic Torrent" takes shape from a digital photograph that I had the opportunity to take in 2023, at the Col de la Croix de Fer in Savoie. This landscape, often perceived as a pure and immaculate environment, is revisited here to illustrate a less visible but worrying reality: the presence of microplastics in mountain lakes and torrents. The printing on brushed aluminum highlights the reliefs and textures of the landscape, over which I painted with a pipette with a mixture of smoothing medium and dark iridescent glitter that symbolizes the plastic pollution that reaches even these remote regions.
Contrary to popular belief, mountain lakes and streams are not spared from plastic pollution. Microscopic fragments of plastic, carried by winds and human activities, accumulate in these waters, threatening aquatic fauna and degrading ecosystems that are still considered pristine today. This invisible but pernicious pollution reveals the global scale of the microplastic crisis, which affects even the most isolated places.
The work is inspired by the scientific study "High-mountain lakes as indicators of microplastic pollution", which highlights the increasing presence of microplastics in high-altitude lakes. These fragments come mainly from atmospheric deposition and local human activities such as tourism. Microplastics, carried by winds and precipitation, contaminate lakes located in remote regions, making these ecosystems key indicators of global pollution. This study highlights the importance of monitoring these sensitive environments to better understand the spread of microplastics on a global scale.
With Torrent de plastique, I seek once again to merge art and science to raise awareness of the plastic pollution crisis that threatens even the purest sources of fresh water. The dark glitter evokes the deceptive beauty of microplastics, hiding the dangers they pose to ecosystems and the human communities that depend on these resources. This work is a call to protect high-altitude ecosystems and to understand that even the most remote environments are no longer safe from the impacts of our modern lifestyles.
