Aurora Robson describes herself as an environmentally conscious artist, working predominantly with plastic debris. Known for her sculptures and installations made of repurposed plastic waste, she hopes to help restrict the flow of plastic into our oceans.
A founding artist of Project Vortex, an international collective of artists, designers, and architects who also work extensively with plastic debris, Robson has been developing a college course called “Sculpture + Intercepting the Waste Stream” designed to foster creative stewardship initiatives through academia.
“My goal is to employ art as a device for shifting values,” she shared in an interview with Artnet. “As opposed to merely communicating, I am attempting to literally reprogram myself and my audience in terms of our relationship to matter, ourselves, and each other.”
“I want my work to be an accurate reflection of reality, but waste is messy,” she admits. “I aim for precision in the work. In order to achieve that precision, my studio must be carefully prepared. I listen to news and information on various programs for a portion of the day so that I can stay informed. Then for the remainder of the day, I typically play energetic or meditative, innovative music to aid in processing information and maintaining creative momentum.”
The end result is both striking and alarming. A wakeup call, if you ever needed one, about the state of our oceans.
