Exhibition: Plastic
This exhibition wrestles with the conundrums of plastic – cheap to make, expensive to dispose of; it can last forever, but is often used only once.
The first display here unashamedly celebrates plastic’s properties: durable, mouldable, heat and water resistant and non-corrosive. The most eye-catching item in this Plastic Material Library is a tricycle made from prefabricated sheets of recycled plastic from Mexico City. It shows the potential of plastic re-use.
Next up, winning out in the yuck stakes, are assorted items of fishing gear made from human hair collected from London salons. For me, it illustrates that what’s possible is not always a real-world solution. The streamlined processing of petrochemicals into plastics, perfected over decades, wins out moneywise, its complexity illustrated in a flow chart for more geeky visitors.