This work provides an introduction to my project, Roots of Waste. The concept began with Plastic Roots, a piece I created several weeks before this final project. In that work, I used images of trash to form the shape of a tree. I wanted it to symbolize the deteriorating state of our environment. Plastic Roots became the foundation for this project and it guided my exploration of the main environmental issues that are based in the Bay Area.
Through Plastic Roots, I wanted to highlight how human actions are causing our natural world to decay. Our environment has become increasingly toxic and polluted. Studies suggest that nearly 40% of the ocean’s surface is now covered with trash. We are quite literally “rooting” our planet in waste.