micro fibre plastic

River Net – preview and live talk

| Irma Irsara

Come and join me for a preview of my current project at London Bridge Hive this September.

River Net is my new time-lapse work-in-progress which looks at the intermingling of natural and synthetic matter, our relationship with the materials we produce and their impact on the river.

In the work, I use material recovered from the Thames with a particular emphasis on plastic food netting. I’m interested in the ambiguity of something developed in part for its aesthetic appeal but which, after single use, becoming unwanted and damaging to the natural environment.

By repurposing it, I examine how much of the original, artificial beauty it retains whilst reflecting on how it might compromise the life of a river.

“What I call ‘plastic coral’ attaches itself everywhere and to everything, breaking down over time into minute pieces that remain in our waters, rivers and oceans. It finds its way inside fish, animals, insects and humans, in all eco-systems even down to the very phylum of plants”

On 22 September I’ll be presenting a lunchtime screening of a 15-minute video preview of the on-going ‘River Net’ project, followed by a Talk and Q&A. Throughout the day, the video will continue to run on a loop, and I will be available to engage and discuss with visitors. I look forward to seeing you all there.

RIVER NET Thursday 22nd Sep 2022

  • 12.30 – 1.30 Talk
  • 1.30pm – 7pm Meet the Artist – drop in

London Bridge Hive, 8 Holyrood Street, first floor, London, SE1 2EL

River Net is Supported by Team London Bridge and Totally Thames Festival.

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Monster Soup 2019

| Irma Irsara

Still from time lapse video work Monster Soup 2019

Monster Soup 2019 uses samples from different locations along the river to create projected time-lapses of melting frozen Thames water embedded with items found along the foreshore. A second microscopic time-lapse work shows what’s normally unseen with a focus also on micro fibre plastic and its potential impact on the environment. The accompanying sound track was created by musician and soundscape artist Jonathan Lambert.

In my work, I have always been preoccupied with nature and the environment, in large part due to my upbringing in the Italian Alps. Recently, my attention has shifted to issues concerning invisible nature, micro pollution and micro fibre plastic. My work explores ideas of transformation and adaptability in response to changes in temperature, landscape, boundaries, and the natural cycle.

The work will be shown at:
FORAGERS OF THE FORESHORE (Totally Thames Festival)
Bargehouse, Barge House Street, SE1 9PH
Wed 25 – Sun 29 Sep, 11am – 6pm

https://totallythames.org/event/foragers-of-the-foreshore

 

Outreach

| N4 Sketch Pad

As part of the R&D process for my current project, I recently delivered two outreach events with families and school children. We looked at micro fibre plastic under the microscope and discussed it’s implications on ecosystems and the environment.

Forensic scientist Pam Hamer was very helpful in suggesting ways to test the shedability of fibres from garments and came up with a quick easy and way for children to create their own ‘microscope slides’ using clear tape and a clear backing of OHP acetate. Polorised filters help to distinguish synthetic fibres such as polmeric ones from natural fibres such as wool and cotton. One identifying feature of some synthetic fibres is the fact that they’re hollow, identifiable at magnitudes of 10x or higher.

Towards the end of May, at Alexandra Park, I was joined my members of the Quekett Club (Dennis Fullwood and Paul Smith) and Friends of Alexandra Park to deliver a joint outreach initiative which looked at Diatoms, bugs and micro fibre plastic. Local families collected samples from the surrounding area and, in my case, looked for evidence of microfibres and examined fibres on clothing.

This month, I also delivered an artist talk and workshops to Year 6 students at Netley Primary School in Camden. I talked to the children about how my upbringing in the Dolomites has informed my artistic practice, especially in terms of environmental issues. I spoke about how I’m currently using microscopes as my artists’ tools to produce video outcomes that look at micro fibre plastics. I ran two workshops where we created our own microscopic slides using clear tape and acetate. We also talked about the importance of thinking and acting intelligently in order to protect the environment. I found the children to be very open to ideas of change in order to safeguard the environment.

Keyence VHX 5000 Microscope

| Irma Irsara

Thanks to Matthew Armes, technical sales engineer for Keyence UK, who called round on Thursday to demonstrate the VHX-6000 Digital Microscope.

This is incredibly easy to use and is capable of real-time focus stacking.

Multi-angle observation by rotating the stage or tilting the lens up to 90 degrees means you don’t have the move the samples by hand. It produces images up to 1600 x 1200 – for higher res, automatic stitching is possible with the motorized stage.

Also good depth of field, embedded polarizing lens and really fast automatic focusing.

I had the opportunity to photograph some of my micro fibre plastic slides, melted snowflake and ice slides and lichens.

Images from clockwise: synthetic net bag for fruit produce, synthetic tights, melting ice, dried Lobaria Pulmonaria x 2, melting ice