Heidi Stålnacke: Sparkling Earth
The installation is made of hundreds of colorful plastic balls that originally served as packaging material. The material first reminded the artist of a childhood toy sea made of plastic balls, which is now threatening to become a reality. Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, over-consumption, and plastic waste in the marine environment are global crises. The contrast between the theme and the visual implementation reflects the contradiction that is present in our everyday consumer society.
The artist is particularly interested in transparent plastic surfaces and how light reflects from them. There is also a hidden ancient light hidden in the plastic. The most common raw material for plastic is petroleum. Over a long period of time, oil has been created from prehistoric plants and marine organisms that have been buried under stratified soil. The chemical energy of fossil fuels, such as petroleum, is solar energy collected by the vegetation of the early days of the earth.