Plastic Mushroom

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According to Environmental Protection Administration‭, ‬a Taiwanese person on average uses 700‭ ‬plastic bags annually‭. ‬Moreover‭, ‬about 91%‭ ‬of the debris washing up on Taiwan's beaches is plastic‭. ‬The results of a study on microplastics in water in Taiwan found that 44‭ ‬percent of tap water had plastic specks‭, ‬while seawater was also found to be heavily polluted with microplastics‭. ‬

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Normally‭, ‬plastic items‭  ‬can take up to 1000‭ ‬years to decompose in landfills‭. ‬However‭, ‬if you see plastic bags as another resources‭, ‬you can see tremendous possibilities‭. ‬There are numerous type we have in Taiwan‭. ‬Each of them have different properties‭, ‬colors and transparency‭. ‬

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As my previous experience in one of the intervention in Re-create Taipei project‭, ‬we collected almost a thousand of plastic bag‭ ‬within a week to make Bubble Station‭, ‬and none of them are the same‭. ‬We even divided them into more then colors of the rainbow‭. ‬When it mention to making it into yarn balls‭, ‬it simply needed to be cut into one long strip comparing with wool or cotton‭.   ‬

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In this exhibition‭, ‬I wanted to share the idea that trash is simply because people's lacking of imagination‭. ‬I also led workshops to teach people how to transform plastic bags into mushroom‭. ‬Some of the works were also present in this exhibition‭. ‬I hope through this kind of upcycling participatory action‭, ‬people can change their prejudice and thoughts‭.‬

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Mycelium‭ ‬

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‭  ‬NO!W Across Lab applies‭ "‬Non-Waste‭" ‬as its core value and cross-village as its action‭, ‬with which regenerates the many aspects‭ ‬and vigorous possibilities of‭ "‬waste‭" ‬in the field of exploring experimentation‭. ‬We connected works with the theme of this year‭'‬s‭ (‬2018‭) ‬Taipei Biennial‭, ‬traversing the question of making choice when facing the endangering ecological system made by global‭ ‬warming when we were doing our residency‭. ‬

‭  ‬This work is a compilation with three parts‭: "‬Crown shyness‭", "‬Mycelium‭", ‬and‭ "‬Pangaea Ultima‭", ‬showing the reusing of recycled material as a way of participatory art to invite our participants‭, ‬while engaging from the network of Crown of sky‭, ‬Pangaea Ultima of surface‭, ‬and Mycelium of stratum‭, ‬to provide a new perspective and reflect on the potentiality of the co-dependence of artificiality and nature‭, ‬revitalizing the energy of‭ "‬Non-Waste‭" ‬choices and the re-strengthening of change‭.‬

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