THE LAST STRAW, 2020
Jean Shin: The Last Straw
Digital print
2020
Installation at Brookfield Place
New York, NY
The Last Straw presents three macro and micro views of plastic waste, featuring different configurations and perspectives of colorful straws and reflective material. A poignant part of the installation includes scattered piles of straws in the distance, which map the flow of plastic debris from our coastlines into the gigantic concentration of garbage floating in the ocean. The artwork encourages viewers to contemplate their own plastic consumption and question the ecological impact of consumer behavior in contributing to plastic pollution.
While acknowledging the Straw Ban represents only a tiny fragment of the problem in slowing down the flood of plastics into our marine environment, The Last Straw aims to prompt us to better understand the magnitude and urgency of the environmental dilemma facing our planet.