PhD | ‘Capturing Plastic: Art and Activism in the Anthropocene’ – Airin Farahmand

PhD | ‘Capturing Plastic: Art and Activism in the Anthropocene’ – Airin Farahmand
PhD-candidate: Airin Farahmand
Supervisors: Prof. dr. Hanneke Grootenboer (promotor), Dr. László Munteán (supervisor)
Institute: Radboud University, Department of History, Art History, and Classics

This research investigates the ways in which plastic informs the aesthetic function of art in the Anthropocene. Plastic is woven into the fabric of contemporary reality. Its production on a massive scale over the past decades has resulted in a “plastic crisis”, one of the great environmental challenges of our time. Contemporary art is one of the sites in which the ecological emergency of plastic has been repeatedly addressed. In the hands of artists, objects of plastic evolve into objects of art provoking critical thought and spurring political action. By analyzing a number of artworks that specifically engage with the plastic crisis, this project sheds light on the role of art in coming to grips with the crisis.