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Plastic Planet, 2023
Single-use plastic medical waste, zip ties, aluminum
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Hosted by the LaBeaud Lab with funding from the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund
Photography by Katie Han
Plastic Planet is a lavender sphere built from plastic waste from medical school and research labs at the Stanford School of Medicine. The assembled plaque assays resemble a planet, molecule or atom, and the sculpture rests on a base of multicolored pipette boxes and viral testing units. Plastic Planet highlights a paradox at the heart of medical work: even as scientific labs produce research to better human health, the extensive plastic waste generated by their practice contributes to a massive public health threat. Plastic Planet was produced out of a creative partnership between Jean Shin and pediatric physician and infectious disease expert Dr. Desiree LaBeaud.
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