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Sayaka Ganz plastic art works are in motion. It is as if they were somehow alive, despite being made of this static, artificial material. They are also light and bright. As in a comic drawing, the sculptures have lines that gives you the sensation of fast movement. It is truly impressive and beautiful.

She uses plastic objects that were probably thrown away too soon, and many of them are single-use plastic items. She collects them, sorts them out, and look at them carefully until they click into place in her sculptures. She captures the soul of all those discarded objects and gives them a second chance, and an opportunity to shine out.

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The artist explains this idea on her site:

“I believe it is very difficult to think far into the future in terms of our ecological foot print. So often our predictions are wrong, and there are not guarantees for anyone’s future. I do not want to condemn the use of plastic or our desire for a more convenient, easier life. However, we must be aware that convenience has hidden costs.

I believe the best way for artists to help reduce waste is to show how beautiful these materials can be, and what can be done with these mundane objects and materials. When we think of these things as beautiful, we value them.” by S. Ganz.

This is the spirit of a concept that we cherish in Kasamakura: Mottainai. Japanese use this word to say “what a waste” or “don’t be wasteful”, referring to food or items that you discard that are still useful. The term is tied to the Buddhist concept of regret for the misuse of items or other resources, and also to the idea of showing respect for material objects. It is a concept widely used today in environmental problems related to the large amount of waste we generate. We believe that it would help us to reflect on the great problem of waste that we have now on the planet, and maybe start the path to change our attitude towards the use of objects and resources. Actually, this is not just something that comes from the East, most likely, we all have memories in our family that reminds us of this idea of not wasting things you can still use, or eat for that matter.

And now, looking back at those sculptures we wonder: Why are these creatures going so fast? Are they running away from us? Do they know something we ignore? They are actually part of the garbage we throw away; perhaps it makes sense they escape from us.

More on Mottainai here and on this video. Complement with our project “Single Use Plastics”.