Believe it or not, but it’s believed there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by the year 2050. That’s a fact that many of us could be about to learn sooner than we hoped. However, this artist makes gorgeous artwork out of garbage to drive home their important message.
Noticing The Effects
Benjamin Von Wong was just like many of us and believed that his small decisions didn’t make much of an impact on the rest of the world. That was until he found himself standing in a landfill that was filled with everyone else’s small decisions to throw away their plastics. It was then that Benjamin realized he had to help try and do something before it was too late.
The First Photo
The photographer was on a trip to Guatemala when Benjamin took part in the first photoshoot that was about to inspire the rest of his collection. Benjamin snapped a massive trash heap as trucks upon trucks arrived to unload the contents while people from across the city came to sort through it all in the hopes of finding something valuable. This paved the way for a huge idea.
Creating A Collection
It wasn’t long before Benjamin was creating huge pieces out of trash to try and show the world what we’re doing to our planet. Some of his many photos include a mermaid surrounded by 10,000 plastic bottles – the average number one person uses in their life, waves made from 168,000 plastic straws found on the streets, and a cave formed from 18,000 plastic cups that were collected from food courts in just one and a half days.
Adding His Message
Benjamin hoped to make his art beautiful so people would be drawn into the image before realizing the message lying underneath. However, it’s not until we look closer that many of us discover what it is that’s bringing the project to life. Benjamin always accompanies his shoots with a video showing how it was created as well as a host of facts about the effect that all of our garbage is having on the planet.
One person’s trash can soon become another’s art. Hopefully, it won’t be long before people realize the message behind the beauty and join Benjamin on his mission to change the world.