Story

These are sculptures made of plastic trash and debris collected along the coast of Pico, portuguese island which is part of the Azores archipelago, situated right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Azores is a beautiful and isolated place. The water is deep blue and crystal clear, lots of marine wildlife, amazing volcanic landscapes, the towns are quaint and filled with incredibly generous folks.

I’ve stayed there for a few months during the summer and on my way to my favorite swimming spot I’ve noticed the plastic trash between the volcanic rocks on the shoreline. It startled me because I was able to quickly gather 2 bags of trash on a 10 minutes walk.

Now all I can see is the fragments of plastic near the ocean. Now it was impossible to look away.
This is plastic that takes around 100 to 300 years to disappear while poisining the sea and its marine wildlife.

So I decided to do something about it.
I’ve kept gathering trash and after a few days the first plastic faces were staring at me in their almost childish look.

This is my way to make it visible, to give it a face.
Because this is our plastic. Mine and yours.

Vasco Mourão
2018