Garbage as Art

We walk the dogs along a number of beaches here and have gone to some beaches without the dogs. A break is sometimes in order. We noticed just prior to, and during the rainy season, the large volumes of garbage that floats into the beaches. After one particular storm, the accumulation was incredible. Palai beach was literally covered from one end to the other with debris. I went to Siam beach one afternoon and was taking photos of the skyline across the ocean horizon, I kept seeing what I thought was floating coconuts in the distance. A few hours later the "coconuts" turned out to be two used rusty propane cylinders, similar to what you would use on a propane BBQ. The following visit I paid closer attention. A heavy few days of storms on the ocean had managed to push the debris into the small cove at Siam beach and I was amazed at what I found. I actually began to try and sort it out into piles, as it was impossible to get to the water without walking through the stuff. I stopped counting disposable lighters after 100. The toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, moisturizer, eyeliner, lipstick,  and shaving cream containers could have filled the shelf at the moo shop.
Toothbrushes, combs, hair brushes, disposable razors compacts, contact lenses cases, flip flops (no two matched), running shoes and assorted plastic toys such as you get at those fast food places in the kids meals. As much as I wanted to bring the toys home, I was nixed on that idea. Then there were the empty food containers, ranging from small plastic bags with food still zip-locked in it, to Styrofoam ice chests (smashed  into large chunks) whiskey beer and soda bottles, snack food packages with Korean, Japanese, Thai, English and Arabic lettering, and piles of plastic drinking containers and boxes. Oh yes, there were actually some coconuts in the mix too. My mini clean up became too overwhelming for me. Plus I had no idea how I would ever get this collected and up the 150 steps to get to the top of the road, so I left my piles as a crew of young men came across the collections and started a fire to burn it all.

I see in the Phuket Word this week that some people took the enterprising decision to also collect garbage from the beaches and have made an art show of it. These masterpieces will be on display in revolving galleries on the island over the next month. All this time, I thought recycling was a good idea, and here I was squandering the potential to be a renown ARTIST!! So I shall have to go and see what potential I may have for next year when the trade winds bring all the artistic mediums to the beaches.

So a few days after posting the above information, we headed to the Nakonnai Museum and art gallery in Rawai to see the exhibition. They had transfored this art galley space, by covering the floors with beach sand. On the walls hung various pieces of artwork, all created from mostly wood debris that had been picked up during the annual NaiHarn beach clean-up. In various locations throughout the exhibition there were also free standing sculpture of collected debris, and one of particular interest to me, of a collage in a glass encased picture frame that had been set into the sand on the floor. The exhibition will be at 4 separate venues. The one we went to see was at the museum/gallery. If you are in Phuket and want to see other sites as well, they are at the Rawai Art Village in Rawai beach and two sites in old Phuket town at Room 2521 on Talang Road and the Wua Gallery on Phanggna Road.

Each of the artists will donate one piece of their work to apparently raise funds to build a small children's hospital at Kho Yao village.

I digress here to mention that despite the programme identifying a web site on the Thailand beach clean up project and a web address for the children's hospital project. Neither of the web addresses worked, nor did my attempts at variations on the addresses. This is becoming a common theme to listed web addresses (see also the information link issues I had for the vegetarian festival). In both cases this is sad as they had the potential to get circulated and assist in the hospital project and to bring better awareness to the beach clean-up projects.