ENVIRONMENTAL
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Personal response, collective action
This publication is the outcome of a collaborative public workshop exploring the links between art and activism. The workshops act to bring people together, including those who would not otherwise have met and therefore attempt to start a conversation, a think tank for change inspired by public expression and community. The space is characterised by the power to connect and create, the act of collaborating and making to brainstorm ideas in order to explore new hopeful visions of society. This process includes highlighting the alternative ways of living being realised around us and the belief in an alternative tomorrow. Participants are encouraged to work in the medium they prefer, aligning with the philosophy that everyone belongs somewhere on the spectrum of creativity.
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A rhizome, from the ancient Greek, “mass of roots�, is a modified stem of a plant that is usually found underground whereby plants share and cultivate the same communal root system. If a rhizome is separated into pieces, each piece is able to give rise to a new plant. The workshops are structured to reflect a rhizomatic root system: - No beginning or end (ongoing discussion) - Multiple entry points (coming together to create multiple alternatives) - Mutualism (cooperation) - Non-hierarchical but diverse in character (community of individuals) - Disturbances leave no trace (equilibrium)
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Re-wild: plastic Return to a state of harmony with nature, explore the tension surrounding the immortality of plastic.
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Continuous cycle and actions, multiplying plastic bags as a big repetitive molecule. Opens up into 4 knitted plastic dresses, sea pollution, re-look, what you see at first might be something else.
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Lauren Singer is a NYU environmental studies graduate that lives a Zero Waste life, going two years without producing waste. Inspired by her university tutor expressing the importance of living your values, Lauren began applying her views on the environment and passion for sustainability to her lifestyle. Hearing about a family in California that produced little to no waste, calling themselves the Zero Waste Home, Lauren made a conscious choice to begin reducing her impact on the environment. She questioned the way things were and why they had become acceptable. This process encouraged her attempt to discover alternatives. This is where her Zero Waste journey began. She now makes her own deodorant, toothpaste and laundry detergent, all to avoid unnecessary waste and chemicals.
able to the average person, Lauren admits that the journey wasn’t easy and that the transition didn’t happen overnight. Lauren began with simple changes such as not buying packaged products and bringing her own bags to the supermarket. She stopped buying new clothing in favour of second hand and uncluttered by clearing the superfluous things in her life. Encouraging others to adopt a waste-free philosophy she started documenting these transformations, the successes and difficulties of her lifestyle, the result being her successful blog, Trash is for Tossers. The blog includes guides to Zero Waste, Alternatives, Recipes and sustainable places to shop. The blog has blossomed to the extent where Lauren can now fully commit her time to the lifestyle, starting her own Zero Waste Company, The Simply Co. The ethos is to produce sustainable and toxic free cleaning products for those who agree with the philosophy and
Although today she is living a fully sufficient eco-friendly lifestyle, that may seem unachiev-
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ethics but haven’t the time to make their own products. The kickstarter campaign has already raised over $35,000.
across the world to use and share. She doesn’t consider herself a hippie or tree hugger, she identifies as a normal girl living in New York. She simply believes in living a life that aligns with what she believes in. She lives knowing we are the future of this planet.
Lauren is successfully integrating sustainability into everyday life, making it simple, affordable and fun, offering alternatives to people
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Andrew Beth Damiaan Helen Imogen Johanna Laura Maisie Midori Sophie
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Project held at LARC (London Action Resource Centre)
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