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NaturArchy Residencies: Plastic Magnitudes back @ JRC Ispra

JD Whitman’s back at the JRC next week, 27/03 to 31/03, and we’re excited to check out how her project and research have been developing!  JD has now been hard at work with JRC colleagues Andrea Valsesia (JRC), Dora Mehn (JRC), Jessica Ponti (JRC), Marisa Sarria Pereira De Passos (JRC) and Danijela Brkovic (INTPA). We invite colleagues to join us in the discovery of Plastic Magnitudes.

Their work will engage with JRC research on nanoplastic (pNP) digestion by bioindicators and threats to human health as pNP enter the food chain through a community-specific, immersive art installation, as well as other potential creative solutions. 

JD will present her work and ongoing collaboration at the JRC. The presentation will be hybrid in format and Webex attendance will be possible, details to be confirmed. If you would like to receive the link to attend please contact @JRC-RESONANCES@ec.europa.eu.

This art-science residency is taking place in the framework of Resonances IV on NaturArchy: Towards a Natural Contract.

More about the project

Discarded plastic will be collected from the community and used to construct a site-specific, large-scale, enterable plastic inflatable. The inflatable will be built as a series of connected tunnels and caverns - similar in form to an actual digestive system - that viewers will be able to explore. The walls of the inflatable will be projection-mapped with larger than life images and videos of pNP research, surrounding viewers with wonders from the nanoscopic world. This captivating, multisensory experience will place viewers (and their community) at the centre of the highlighted pNP research, connecting them directly as contributors to the problem and solution.

Background

JD Whitman is an installation artist, educator, and ocean advocate conducting interdisciplinary research in the United States and Ireland. Andrea, Dora, Jessica and Marisa work in Unit F.2, researching nanoplastics and bioindicators, while using scanning electron microscopy. Marisa is also part of the NANOPLASTICS project as part of the Centre for Advanced Studies, working on methods and strategies for the widespread detection and environmental monitoring of nanoplastic pollution. Danijela and JD met at the Summer School (link) and Daijela will help ensure that the link between the presented research and current EU policy is accurately translated to viewers.

JD Whitman and Dora Mehn working together in the JRC lab, wearing lab coats

Details

Publication date

Related links