https://www.dwbowen.com/wilderness
1) I first noticed the up and down movement of the bags. It is very rhythmic and wave like. I briefly looked over his other works, and noticed that he often uses real time data or real world data to influence his sculptures. And this one, the bags are floating in a way that makes it look like they are on the surface of the ocean. There’s also a lot of noise from the motors that is very apparent in the video, and I assume it is much louder in person. I wonder if this was intentional, to add to the chaos of the sea. The use of plastic I believe is smart, as the amount of plastic in the ocean is unbelievable, and is has the capability to ruin our ecosystem.
2) There are approximately 15 bags suspended by a wire in a room. Their lights below these bags, shining upward, and the bags move up and down in a wave. The bags almost resemble jellyfish as they float up and down gracefully, and even though they’re all separate, they appear connected through their movements. The area is quite large, likely around 20 feet across and 10 feet wide. The lights that are facing upwards, illuminate the bags almost making them look like lanterns. The bags go between what is approximately two and around 10 feet in height.
3) I think the meaning of the work is very powerful. At a time where we have more plastic in the ocean than ever in the history of the Earth, it is important to bring light to the matter. The vast technical skills required to make this are very impressive. Also, he used actual data of wave movement taken from a journey through the Pacific Ocean to base this off of, adding a sense of realism. The plastic bags are not meant to be very exquisite in appearance, but I’m more to serve the purpose of representing pollution in the ocean. The whole room is centered around this piece, although there is another work of his next to it. The piece is not exactly interactive, but is more meant to be viewed from a close or far distance.
4) plastic bags represent a item that is a cost of huge material, waste and pollution. They are one time use and take a vast amount of resources to produce. At the same time, they are very hard to recycle. I believe he chose these to represent the epitome of human waste, a one time use items that is dangerous to the environment. This also relates to the great Pacific garbage patch, which is a large mass of plastic in the Pacific Ocean. The use of wave data from the Pacific Ocean is likely on purpose, as due to current slots of plastic ends up there.
5) the meaning of this work boils down to environmentalism. There are bags floating in what appears to be waves. This is a direct representation of the plastic waste that fills our oceans today. It is not necessarily deep, but still, it is important to bring light to these issues. The fact that they are real plastic bags floating around in the ocean, hurting marine life, and that the wave data is from Rio waves on earth, create a sense of dread. It is a reminder that if we do not clean up or act, we will face the consequences.