In association with Science Gallery Dublin

Amber Agrichemwhey (IRE), Janna Ahrndt (USA), axial3D (UK), Thijs Biersteker (NL), Sean Breithaupt (UK), Shih Hsiung Chou (TW), Robby Collins (IRE), Ed Devane (IRE), Michelle McBride (IRE), Thomas Hoogewerf (NL), Vico Magistretti (ITL) , Megan Valanidas (USA), Sanne Visser (NL), Luke Casserly/Shanna May Breen (IRE), Elizabeth Crotty/Conor Fallon (USA, IRE), Ellen Roche/Markus Horvath/Clara Park/Lucy Hu (IRE, DEU, USA), Tajwar Aziz/Libby Landeberg/Halszka Staniewicz/Federico Trucchia (PAK, UK,PL, ITL), Keith Fitzsimons/Roisin Ni Mheachair/Alex Hennessy, Joe Fahy (IRE), and Bioengineering Students – Trinity College Dublin (INT).

Wexford County Council in partnership with Science Gallery Dublin and Wexford Arts Centre are pleased to present PLASTIC – a touring exhibition which interrogates our current and future relationship with the material. The unsustainability of our relationship with plastic is well documented, but to stop using it completely is not an option. Its use has revolutionised industrial design and more essentially, modern medicine relies on plastic so heavily that even the most basic medical procedures would be unimaginable without it.

Plastics are a global but relatively recent problem, meaning our environment and our culture has plasticity we can mould and change it, both intentionally and unintentionally. The question is, can we utilise this wonderful, terrible material, while fundamentally changing our approach to living with PLASTIC?

The exhibition will tour to the Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda in May and June, and continue to Galway, Limerick and Letterkenny. In each location, the exhibition will launch with a new commission that has been co-created with the community to recontextualise the local conversation about plastic. ‘Polycetacea’ is a new work by Ed Devane. The theme of the piece was derived during a co-design workshop in Wexford where participants identified the county’s coastal areas, and the effects of plastic pollution on them, as common concerns. The final piece – an abstract sculptural representation of a whale – will will also features several sound making elements that respond to visitor’s movement in the County Council.  The artist Ed Devane will also be running a free two-day workshop in March with local communities in Wexford exploring music instrument making using recycled plastics.

Ed Devane is a sound artist, instrument builder, and educator originally from Wexford and now based in Donegal. Beginning his career in electronic music production, Ed’s work encompasses interactive installations, electronic instrument design, and community engagement through varied workshops. Continual experimentation and investigation of materials and processes are integral to Devane’s work.

SUBSET, the artist collective group, are also being commissioned to create a mural on the theme of PLASTIC in Wexford town.

PLASTIC was created by Science Gallery Dublin at Trinity College Dublin, supported by Science Foundation Ireland.  Science Gallery Dublin is part of the Science Gallery Network pioneered by Trinity College Dublin.