Turning off the tap: a look at Antoine Repesse #365 Unpacked
/When you use something on a daily basis its hard to imagine its impact over time, especially when it comes to waste as its often out of sight and therefore out of mind.
Back in 2011, photographer Antoine Repesse decided to tackle his waste head on and for four years stopped throwing away his recyclable rubbish. During this time he accumulated over 70 cubic meters of trash including 1600 milk bottles, 4800 loo rolls and 800kg of newspapers. His photography project that followed, #365, Unpacked, became ‘a questioning of a major society issue: the production of waste on a daily basis’, and made our daily waste visible for all to see.
This accumulation of waste seen in his images really does highlight our disconnect between our consumption patterns, our waste produced and the effect it has on the planet.
Luckily we’ve come a long way since Repesse’s project and unlike the subjects seen in his work we are no longer blind to the effects waste is having on our environment and our life source. Thanks to numerous projects since we are now all aware of the damage that has been caused. But there is still a lot to do.
A common argument or concern raised when looking at plastic waste is to blame the authorities for not having enough recycling options in place, but we think there is a bigger issue at play - our mass consumption and its link to our waste. We believe we have to start owning our own waste and look to turn off the tap rather than mop up the mess. Refusing to buy single-use products and buying only what you need are great steps forward in slowing down the amount of waste created and therefore harm to the environment. Turning off the plastic tap will mean there’s nothing to mop up.
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