WICKED MONSTROUS DIALOGUES: Part ll
Thursday, February 12 Timebuddy
United States: 9am HST, 11am PST, Noon MST, 1pm CST, 2pm EST
Europe: 19:00 GMT, 20:00 CET, Australia: Friday, February 13, 6:00am AEDT
Scott Bluedorn
Shani Nottingham
Alejandro Duran
This winter/spring we will explore through a series of dialogues, works that our members are making today that engage plastics as a material for reuse, research, and aesthetic inquiry. Artists invited are included in the upcoming ecoartspace book titled Wicked Monstrous, that will launch fall 2026.
This month we will hear from Scott Bluedorn, who will discuss his ongoing project Microplastic Archive, illustrating found plastic objects while classifying specimens and recording their prevalence, Shani Nottingham, who will present her plastics project of sculptural installations made from repurposed bread tags saved and sent to her from across the world. And Alejandro Duran, who will share his work made from plastic waste collected along global coastlines, carried by ocean currents .
Each presenter will have approximately 15 minutes to discuss their work, then Q&A with audience participation following.
Member presenters:
Scott Bluedorn is an artist, illustrator and designer working in various media including painting, drawing, printmaking, installation and found object assemblage. His work reckons with the effects of the Anthropocene era defined by climate disruption and the alteration of environments by human agency, while incorporating elements of science, anthropology, myth, mysticism and the supernatural. Scott lives and works on eastern Long Island, and his work is in the collection of the Parrish Art Museum of Watermill, NY, LongHouse Reserve, Edward Albee Foundation, and numerous private collections. www.scottbluedorn.com
Shani Nottingham is multi-disciplinary artist working in illustration, collage, photography, sculpture and installation: she is also a curator and educator. In recent years she has worked with post consumer waste and packaging, the things left behind and discarded. For The Breadtag Project, Nottingham transforms small plastic objects from their initial purpose to create things that are ‘other,' making objects that confront and surprise, defying their intended destiny as landfill, and questioning their usual intrinsic lack of value. Her practice also reflects the transitional and problematic relationship we have with environment/consumerism and plastics, and the tension that results when such problematic specimens can become subjectively beautiful. Working, methodically, laboriously by hand, investigating the materiality and potentiality of these artefacts of the Anthropocene, she invites dialogue around environment, waste, green-washing, desirability, sustainability & consumerism. All bread tags used for her project have been saved and sent to her from across the world as a global response to a global problem. Nottingham is based in regional Central West, Wiradjuri Land, NSW Australia. www.shani-nottingham.com
Alejandro Durán is a Mexican-American artist whose work explores ecology, consumption, and global systems through long-term, place-based practice. His project Washed Up: Transforming a Trashed Landscape spans more than fifteen years and uses plastic debris collected along the Caribbean coast of Mexico to create site-specific installations, photographs, and participatory environments. Rooted in Sian Ka’an, a federally protected reserve and UNESCO World Heritage site, Durán’s work examines how global systems of production and consumption have manifested in this specific landscape. His practice blends art, documentary, and community engagement, grounded in care and sustained attention. Durán’s work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, schools, and public institutions, including the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. He continues to develop Washed Up as both an evolving artistic practice and a platform for public dialogue around environmental responsibility. https://alejandroduran.com
This event is free for members + one guest. $5 for non-members. All participants MUST REGISTER.
