A curious melted plastic sculpture has been spotted on one of Cape Town’s most famous seaside spots – Camps Bay beach. Partially buried beneath the sand, one can make out a giant, colourful plastic-riddled skull.
The sculpture was created using a blend of welded metal and recycled plastic referencing ‘plastiglomerate’, a new type of fossil discovered on a beach in Hawaii. A plastiglomerate is a rock veined, not with metal or quartz but with plastic, fossil.
This significant structure forms part of a collaborative effort between ethical retailer Faithful to Nature and performance artist, sculptor and filmmaker Francois Knoetze. This partnership aims to highlight the sheer volume of plastic waste that now forms part of our ocean’s ecosystem, and that is essentially destroying our planet.
“This project was inspired by the need to examine how our everyday decisions are negatively affecting the environment and contributing to the overall decline of this place that we call home,” said Robyn Smith, Founder of Faithful to Nature. She continued, “The sculpture is intended to necessitate the public and remind us to reconsider how we are plasticising the landscape.”
“It’s about more than recycling plastic; it’s about creating a vantage point and looking at the permanent and grave implications that using these materials have on the environment,” shares Knoetze.” It is time to take ownership of our mess, educate ourselves about where it ends up, and collectively hold the people who profit from the destruction of our environment accountable.” As a brand in support of environmental initiatives, the formation of the sculpture relates to the objectives of Plastic Free July® – a global challenge to reduce personal consumption of single-use plastic. By minimising plastic waste, we can enjoy cleaner streets, oceans, and communities. Faithful to Nature has also recently introduced a 100% plastic-free packaging pantry range with a planet-friendly protective carton box – sourced from sustainably managed forests and printed with non-toxic vegetable-based inks. “We encourage consumers to put the planet first by putting plastic in the past,” Smith concludes.
The plastiglomerate sculpture concludes Faithful to Nature’s Force of Nature campaign, which gives Nature a voice and urges the public to shop ethically. Echoing this sentiment, Faithful to Nature recently opened its flagship store at the V&A Waterfront, making it even easier for consumers to shop responsibly sourced products.
For those interested in learning more about this plastiglomerate sculpture, You can find a QR code next to the sculpture.
About Faithful to Nature and Force of Nature
Faithful to Nature was founded in 2006 out of the belief that people should be able to purchase products with a full product description including a complete ingredient list from the country of origin to the cruelty-free status. Each and every one of the products on the website has been carefully scrutinised to ensure that they are genuinely as natural as they claim to be.
About Force of Nature
Force of Nature is an effort from Faithful to Nature to bring to light the environmental issues affecting South Africans. It forms part of Faithful to Nature’s quest to share knowledge and provide consumers with valuable resources that will help them become more discerning and conscious consumers. The inaugural Force of Nature event hosted key opinion leaders sharing their knowledge on proactive preventative measures and how we can tackle the consequences of climate change. The Force of Nature campaign also featured a livestream via Faithful to Nature’s social media platforms and took place on 12 May 2021, featuring talks from the most influential voices in sustainability. Speakers included Robyn Smith (founder and director of Faithful to Nature), Aaniyah Omardien (founder and director of The Beach Co-op), Xoli Fuyani (Environmental Education Project Manager at Earthchild Project) and Yola Mgogwana, a high school student and activist. The event was hosted by Kia Johnson (ambassador for World Wildlife Fund SA (WWFSA). During the livestream, viewers also had the opportunity to sign up to become a Global Citizen, with all proceeds being donated to the Global Citizen Protect Our Planet initiatives.
Watch the Force of Nature event – LINK.
