Ocean Plastics presents design’s ability to influence the future

It is estimated that in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. With the exhibition Ocean Plastics, the Röhsska Museum wants to highlight how designers consider possibilities and materials of the future through various design projects.

Marine littering is one of the major environmental issues of our time. Scientists have identified the problems caused by pollution but they alone cannot solve them. This is where design can contribute. Today, designers are becoming alchemists, scientists, activists, and social entrepreneurs. Their involvement stems from interdisciplinary analysis, a collaborative spirit and a belief in design’s ability to contribute to the solution, rather than the problem.

- With the exhibition Ocean Plastics we want to highlight questions relating to environmental issues by presenting design projects which address plastic pollution through questioning our relationship to the sea, presenting strategies for cleaning up the oceans, recycling existing plastics and exploring the potentials of bio-plastics, says Johan Deurell, curator at the Röhsska Museum.

Design is everywhere

A basis for shifting consumer patterns and public opinion is that individuals have access to knowledge as well as different kinds of capital. That is why an important part of the work with the exhibition as well as its design has been to raise the issues in an intriguing way in the spirit of popular education.

- With Röhsska’s message that “Design is Everywhere” the museum also says that products and materials have a great impact on nature and our climate. Ocean Plastics highlights the widespread use of plastics today and the various ways in which design and innovation unite in the efforts to come up with alternative design solutions and new materials in relation to us consumers, says Nina Due, Museum Director at the Röhsska Museum.

About the exhibition:

Ocean Plastics presents a selection of design concepts and consumer products: from mass-produced industrial design to exclusive artisanal goods, sports fashion, print and films. The exhibition spans two floors and is divided into four themes:

Plastics and the ocean: In this part of the exhibition the museum has collaborated with the Chalmers University of Technology and The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation to explore how plastics are used and how they end up in the ocean.

Blue humanities: By highlighting fundamental questions about who and what we are, creators hope to blur the distinction between humans and the sea.

Staying with the Trouble: Through interdisciplinary collaboration, designers explore the possibilities and the commercial potential in collecting and recycling plastic waste.

From Cradle to Cradle: Since many synthetic plastics never were designed to be burned or reused in a safe way, designers explore biodegradable materials and bioplastics.

Participating designers: Adidas and Parley for the Ocean, Ramin Bahrani, Formfantasma, Ina Johansson Lidman and Dave Hakkens, Jessica den Hartog, Houdini & PrimaLoft, Malmö Upcycling Service, Roos Meerman, Christian Meindertsma and Label/Breed, Ocean Clean-Up, Optimist for Havet, Aurore Piette, Snøhetta and NCP, Basse Stittgen, Studio Swine, Margarita Talep, Yesenia Thibault-Picazo.

Producer: The Röhsska Museum
Curator: Johan Deurell (exhibition curator, the Röhsska Museum)
Exhibition design: Wang & Söderström
Graphic identity: Wang & Söderström
Collaborators: the Chalmers University of Technology, The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, Kvadrat and Stena Recycling.

The exhibition runs from June 15th, 2019 to January 5th, 2020.

Welcome to the press preview on Friday, June 14th at 11:00.
Museum director Nina Due and curator Johan Deurell will give an introduction to the exhibition. Wang & Söderström, who created the exhibitions design as well as its graphic identity, and Formfantasma, who are exhibiting their project Botanica, will be available for interviews.

Please register your participation no later than Wednesday, June 12th: 
eva.rosengren@kultur.goteborg.se

Contact

Johan Deurell, Curator
031-368 31 68
johan.deurell@kultur.goteborg.se

Eva Rosengren, Press Officer
070-662 76 65
eva.rosengren@kultur.goteborg.se

Nina Due, Museum Director
031-368 31 55
nina.due@kultur.goteborg.se