At least 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the ocean each year. Reading the statistics about the effects of plastics and other waste to our environment is pretty devastating, and it’s hard to know what to do with the information. In an effort to raise awareness, Wasteland is an installation presented by Art & About Sydney by sustainability-focused creative studio, Mundane Matters, literally made out of kilos of trash found in The GreatBarrier Reef.

Thousands of bright orange balls are suspended 20 metres off the ceiling of Customs House in a linear formation, conjuring up images of bobbing nautical markers, which remind us of the origin of this repurposed plastic. With a team of 80 volunteers, Mundane Matters collected 2,319kg of plastic from the oceans around the Whitsunday Islands over the course of just one week, repurposing 120kg of the damaging debris into these ‘manmade oranges’ for the Wasteland installation.

Supported by the City of Sydney, the work is designed to raise urgent awareness around the impact of waste on our environment, and to remind us all of three vital principles: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Wasteland by Mundane Matters
Presented by Art &About Sydney, supported by City of Sydney
October 6th-28th
Customs House
31 Alfred Street
Sydney, New South Wales