ABSTRACT
The notion of 'artifice' in artistic and scientific production is evoked, in considering both the production and modes of presentation of the work. The artifice is something that the instrument produces, a biproduct that is not real. And to some extent any research product contains an artificial character. The leftovers made of plastic carry with them a narrative of interconnected history, that somehow bridges the gap between nature and the artifice. The plastic is the archetypal artificial material produced by men's industrial activities, but is ambiguously redeemed in its return to the sea, to the natural environment, where it pursues its own species' evolution. Plastic is a very strange material, because it imitates the appearance of the jellyfish and other creatures which are part of the sea, which is very unfortunate because then the plastic parts end up in the intestines of birds.
