ENVIRONMENT

With its initiative Polyeco provides recognized and emerging, Greek and foreign artists with the means and the resources to create an artwork, inspired by the waste management process. For the creation of their artworks, the artists often travel to countries that the company is active (residency) and with the expressive means they use they present with their own, unique manner the environmental pollution and the relieving effect of restoration and clean up.

More specifically, the artists draw inspiration from the waste management sites and facilities, the countries, the workforce and the persons that are involved in the waste management process. Furthermore, the artists explore where the waste come from, how they travel, which are the external factors and the taboos that affect our perception of waste and which are our reactions to the view of useless and discarded objects. Thus, through this arts initiative, Polyeco interacts with local communities and poses issues that concern the environmental policy in local, regional and national level. Concerning the means of expression that are used, video art and installations are considered more preferable, because they promote the idea of recycling and reusing, since they are made from recyclable materials collected by Polyeco (fluorescent lamps, batteries e.t.c.).

Two of the artists that participate in the initiative have already completed their artworks:

1. The first is a video art (Kepler) produced in Tbilisi where Polyeco completed a hazardous waste management project. (Watch Kepler video trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwNwkvVErJE&spfreload=10). Video art «Kepler», which made its debut at the Athens International Film Festival on September 19, is participating officially in the competition section of major international festivals starting from Glasgow Short Film Festival which will be held on March 11 - 15 in Glasgow. Furthermore, Kepler will be presented at Kino der Kunst International Festival that will be held on April 22 - 25 at Munich, Germany, as well as in the European Independent Film Festival (ECU) that will be held in Paris, France, on April 10 - 12.

2. The second completed artwork is a sculptural installation from fluorescent lamps. The fluorescent lamps are knitted with yellow harnesses creating a raw of panels. Those knitted panels are referred to the primary form of fencing and in particular to the woven fabrics/carpets that covered the ancient domestic space. The artwork concentrates upon the need of the modern man to regain the harmony in his relationship with nature, himself and the others. In this artwork, the darkness that man is experiencing in the contemporary shelters of «retrenchment» is transformed in sunlight and the light is transformed in matter, i.e. protective woven fabrics. In this way, another abiding place is created where the man is called to remain, protected but simultaneously open to «incidents» when encountering others.

The third oeuvre is a photo gallery and will be completed in the near future. For the creation of this oeuvre the artist travelled at Benin where Polyeco carried out the project ‘Safeguarding and disposal of obsolete pesticides in Benin’, awarded by United Nations Development Program. For the photographic collection the artist used super 8 film that creates special colorings provoking intense feelings.