Plastic Water Bottle

Real Canadian Water, 2020

Plastic, paper

Dimensions variable

Purchased from Metro

Personal collection I

In today’s political climate, this simple photo of an empty water bottle can be considered a symbol. With the worldwide movements striving for environmental restoration and protection, the plastic water bottle can be seen as a threat to ecosystems around the world, putting plants and animals in danger. Speaking to both the past as well as the future, this image can show the fall of the plastic bottle industry as environmental awareness rises, realizing the dangers to our wildlife, as well as the ozone. The push toward a more sustainable future leads to the diminishment of the classic plastic water bottle, as people begin to be more conscious of the impacts of production. The use of this bottle symbolizes the effects humanity has on the environment, through pollution and improper dumping of waste. With rising sea levels, loss of coral reefs and beaches covered in garbage, it is clear that our treatment of the environment has been devastating and we must take action urgently.

Of course no single plastic water bottle could pose such immense threats to the environment, but at a global scale, the amount of human-made materials introduced into natural environments can have extremely detrimental effects to the organisms around, as well as the air quality and any sources of water. By looking at how much damage the human race has caused with all of its improper disposal of artificial materials and the mistreatment of nature, its hard to conceive.

By using a single empty plastic water bottle as a symbol, it connotes a subtle yet important message: a very small decision, like disposing of materials improperly, can have an immense ripple effect within natural ecosystems. This object suggests that by making a simple decision, we, as humans, create bigger change.

Thomas Finn