Students have approached the Waste 2 Art theme through the Fast Fashion perspective. Loosely ‘humanizing’ the problems associated with Fast Fashion, the sculptures take on human or animal form, evoking associations with sprites or pixies that are the unseen victims in nature. Made from found objects in the form of discarded clothing, each one explores different aspects, from microfibres of synthetic fabric entering the food chain to toxic dyes and chemicals leaching from the 227,000 tons of fast fashion entering Australian landfill each year, or chemical spills from textile factories. The effects of this can be seen on the figures, perhaps indicating the plight of workers, while others suggest solutions such as renting or recycling clothes. Others take an ironic look at the problems, with our love of the beach being the place where we are most likely to see human impacts on the environment. Whether suffocating or mourning, these figures obliquely reference the problems in thought provoking ways, using humour, disgust, pity or sometimes just confusion that an issue of such scale can be allowed to continue.
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