Elsja Mecham - 2021

Artist's Statement

Project: My project is an edited image of art work. I started with a blank canvas and decided to paint the original theme of “There is No Planet B”. Then I incorporated all of my single use waste products I collected for a month. I then photographed my art work and garbage at a beautiful pond in Logan, UT. Finally, I edited the photo to make the image look dreary, sad, and polluted.

Motivation: My motivation started when I noticed all the single use waste items related to Covid-19. As I was doing this, I began to recognize how many regular everyday single use items were ending up in my garbage. After this realization, I was curious to see how much single use waste I would produce in one month. I then started to collect it. At the end of collecting the waste, I was amazed with the amount of waste one person can produce. I wanted to bring this topic to light. It is so easy for a person to throw away their waste and never see it again. I wanted people to recognize the large amount of single use waste they create and how it destroys our beautiful Earth. To convey this message, I put single use waste in a beautiful area. People need to understand that we live on one planet and there is no Planet B. Everyone needs to become more aware of the waste and specifically single use waste they create and impose onto our only planet.

Process: First, I started to collect Covid-19 single use waste. Second, I changed my mind and started collecting all of my single use waste. Third, I made the decision to collect my waste for one month (March 21,2021- April 21,2021). Fourth, I made a painting of earth and wrote “There is No Planet B” on a canvas. Fifth, I attached a few items of my single use waste to the canvas. Sixth, I took my artwork and the bag of waste I collected to a beautiful location in Logan, Ut. Seventh, I took pictures of the waste and artwork and tried to make our beautiful Earth ugly and polluted. Finally, I took my photos and edited them to look grey, polluted, rugged, and not beautiful anymore.