Wall Ilene Sunshine Plastic bags, scavenged tree branches Courtesy of Metaphor Contemporary Art, Brooklyn, NY
Artist's Statement:
"Wall" is made from plastic bags and fallen tree branches scavenged from New York City’s parks. In a feat of balance, loops of bags literally “carry” branches – each row hanging from the one above it. The resulting structure is, in essence, a three-dimensional drawing of a wall. While developing this sculpture, I was thinking about plastic. Made from fossil fuels (most likely algae billions of years ago), plastic bags are a distant cousin to trees! That is a wild thought, but matter does continually change through human intervention and natural processes. For me, “recycling” reflects a deeper truth that transformation is at the heart of everything.