PLASTIVORE
Oliver Kellhammer (United States of America)
Will nature save us from ourselves?
Polystyrene is a large component of our global waste problem. A non-biodegradable material and a major contributor to pollution, this ubiquitous substance is difficult to dispose of.
Yet the solution to this may be right in front of us. Or underneath us.
The humble mealworm has the ability to partially biodegrade polystyrene through its gut bacteria, breaking down the plastic and turning it into compost. But what if we start genetically engineering our insect friends to be super plastic-digesters? The perfect solution? Or ecological slavery?
Artist Oliver Kellhammer collaborated with students at Parsons School of Design in New York to demonstrate how insects could help us break down this plastic problem.
First exhibited at Science Gallery Dublin in 2018, Kellhammer’s installation came to Melbourne in 2019, and allowed viewers to watch mealworms dine on polystyrene.
Oliver Kellhammer (US) is an independent artist, writer and researcher, who seeks, through his botanical interventions and social art practice, to demonstrate nature’s surprising ability to recover from damage. His recent work has focused on the psychosocial effects of climate change, cleaning up contaminated soils, reintroducing prehistoric trees to landscape damaged by industrial logging and cataloging the ecology of brownfield ecologies. He currently works as a lecturer in sustainable systems at Parsons School of Design in New York City.