What we ultimately consume

The North Pacific Gyre is a floating mass of discarded plastic products. It’s estimated to be twice the size of Texas and has devastating effects on wildlife and the environment, and artist Jerry Takigawa elegantly conveys this in False Food—A Metaphor for Survival.

He photographs plastic objects that were retrieved from inside albatross who perished, likely from mistaking the plastic as food, carefully arranged upon other images, like a photo of stones or an Asian drawing.

Takigawa has found an aesthetically compelling way to draw the viewer in, to reveal this situation and to remind ourselves how our actions affect others.

“Plastic is often designed for ‘single-use’ (think straw, cup, bottle),” he says, “but, by its nature, every molecule ever developed is still with us today. … [W]hat we throw away, we ultimately consume.”