Artist’s Journal:

There is a serious lack of awareness of the sheer volume of plastic that is produced by the most innocuous practices. When I began looking for small waste that I could use to embellish my works, a mother reached out to me and offered the colourful filaments you see in the belly of this raccoon. She explained that her children were 3D printing a lot of keychains, and these remnants would go to the landfill if I couldn’t find a use for them. She shared that her child was having nightmares about the amount of waste they were producing, and she was eager to have me take the filaments off her hands so that her youngster would stop panicking.

I found it very interesting that the child understood the impact of these filaments. It wouldn’t have occurred me to that a child would be the one experiencing existential dread over these castoffs. That seems like such a big thought for such a small person. I think this indicates that the youth are indeed hearing the warnings about their future.

I didn’t get to ask the mother why they didn’t just stop 3D printing so her child could rest easy. But I did wonder about that, a lot.

I took two bags of the filaments and used them up as much as I could, but then I had to stop. The plastic is essentially useless for any other purpose; it wouldn’t adhere to things well, it wouldn’t melt into a moldable material or be used as an adhesive. It is truly useless waste. I decline further donations. I hoped the mother would reconsider the hobby altogether.