Marina DeBris

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Marina DeBris
Castaway Dress Designed by Marina DeBris.jpg
Dress made by Marina DeBris from trash found on the beach
Born
Detroit, Michigan
EducationIndiana University; Rhode Island School of Design
AwardsAllens People’s Choice Award 2017 Sculpture By the Sea; Sydney Water Environmental Sculpture Subsidy; Waverley Council Mayor’s Prize
Website http://www.washedup.us/

Marina DeBris is the name used by an Australian-based artist whose work focuses on reusing trash [1] to raise awareness of ocean and beach pollution. [2] [3] [4] [5] DeBris uses trash washed up from the beach to create trashion, 'fish tanks', decorative art and other works of art. [6] [7] [8] She has also used beach trash to provide one perspective on what the earth might look like from space. [9] As well as creating art from debris, DeBris also is a fund raiser for environmental organizations, [10] [11] [12] [13] and collaborates with non-profit organizations and schools to educate children about ocean pollution. [14] [15] In 2021, DeBris found almost 300 face masks on beaches, and used them in her trashion and other displays. [16]

Contents

DeBris is also a social activist. In 2011 she participated in a panel on how artists can contribute to environmental public policy, [17] promote clean energy [18] and curate eco-art exhibitions. [19] [20] DeBris has worked with non profits to raise funds for art education. [21] DeBris is listed with the Women Environmental Artists Directory. [22]

Education and personal life

DeBris was educated at Indiana University and the Rhode Island School of Design. She has lived and worked in New York City, London, England, and Sydney, Australia. She was born in Detroit, had lived in Los Angeles, [23] [24] [25] and currently lives in Australia [26]

Genre and venues

Works by DeBris are often displayed in galleries, [27] [6] [28] [29] [30] featured in a live performance about ocean waste, [31] included in a maritime museum, [32] Sculpture by the Sea, [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] featured in magazines, [40] included in science events, [41] included in the Smithsonian Institution’s Washed Ashore Project, [42] included in the Ocean Lovers Festival, [43] and has been used by organizations such as the United Nations as awards. [44] Her works are also displayed in venues not typically thought of as galleries, but are art venues nonetheless, such as retail venues, [12] [45] Burning Man, [46] a trasher's ball, [47] a downtown art walk, [48] an Earth Day creek spring clean-up, [49] and an Environmental & Animal Justice Exhibit. [50] Marina's Inconvenience Store has won three awards at the 2017 Sculpture by the Sea and is now a traveling exhibition. [51] Marina is included in the Bondi Story Room, [52] which is owned and managed by the Waverley Council.

DeBris also partners or works with various anti-pollution organizations, such as Friends of Ballona Wetlands, [49] 5 Gyres, [53] RuckusRoots, [54] the United Nations Special Assembly on Climate Change [55] Heal the Bay [56] and other organizations, such as Aquarium of the Pacific. [57] Marina DeBris has also designed accessories for Captain Charles J. Moore, who worked to bring attention to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. DeBris' work with the United Nations Special Assembly was a collaboration with actress/poet Sheryl Lee, dancer Maya Gabay, and musician Marla Leigh. [58]

DeBris also partnered with an office building, MLC Centre, to highlight the problems of throwaway coffee cups. The MLC Centre hosted her work "Disposable Truths" created from used throwaway coffee cups. [59] [60] [61]

Her work was also featured in an article about World Ocean Day. [62]

Awards

DeBris's "Inconvenience Store" was a joint recipients of the Allens People's Choice Award at the 2017 Sculpture By the Sea. [63] [64] The "Inconvenience Store" was also awarded with the Sydney Water Environmental Sculpture Subsidy for her work on water pollution and consumption, [65] and won the Waverley Council Mayor's Prize. [66] [67] Marina also won the Helen Lempriere Scholarship. [68] Marina was also a 2016 Waverley Council studio artist. [69]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Found object</span> Non-standard material used in work of art

A found object, or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already have a non-art function. Pablo Picasso first publicly utilized the idea when he pasted a printed image of chair caning onto his painting titled Still Life with Chair Caning (1912). Marcel Duchamp is thought to have perfected the concept several years later when he made a series of ready-mades, consisting of completely unaltered everyday objects selected by Duchamp and designated as art. The most famous example is Fountain (1917), a standard urinal purchased from a hardware store and displayed on a pedestal, resting on its back. In its strictest sense the term "ready-made" is applied exclusively to works produced by Marcel Duchamp, who borrowed the term from the clothing industry while living in New York, and especially to works dating from 1913 to 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bondi Beach</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs. It has a population of 11,656 residents. Its postcode is 2026. Bondi, North Bondi and Bondi Junction are neighbouring suburbs. Bondi Beach is one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia sparking two hit TV series Bondi Rescue and Bondi Vet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronte, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Bronte is a beachside Eastern Suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bronte Beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Waverley Council local government area of the Eastern Suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine debris</span> Human-created solid waste in the sea or ocean

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is called ocean dumping. Naturally occurring debris, such as driftwood and drift seeds, are also present. With the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of (petrochemical) plastics do not biodegrade quickly, as would natural or organic materials. The largest single type of plastic pollution (~10%) and majority of large plastic in the oceans is discarded and lost nets from the fishing industry. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamarama</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Tamarama is a beachside suburb, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tamarama is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

Bondi is a suburb of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Pacific garbage patch</span> Gyre of debris in the North Pacific

The Great Pacific garbage patch is a garbage patch, a gyre of marine debris particles, in the central North Pacific Ocean. It is located roughly from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N. The collection of plastic and floating trash originates from the Pacific Rim, including countries in Asia, North America, and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculpture by the Sea</span>

The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas artists. In 2005, a companion event was established at Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia featuring over 70 artists. In 2009 it was announced that Aarhus in Denmark would host the first Sculpture by the Sea exhibition outside of Australia.

Andrew Rogers is a contemporary sculptor born in Australia whose works may be found in many plazas and buildings around the world. Rogers is the creator of the world's largest contemporary land art undertaking. Titled "Rhythms of Life," the project commenced in 1998 and at present comprises 51 massive stone structures across 16 countries on seven continents and has involved over 7,500 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trashion</span>

Trashion is a term for art, jewellery, fashion and objects for the home created from used, thrown-out, found and repurposed elements. The term was first coined in New Zealand in 2004 and gained in usage through 2005. Trashion is a subgenre of found object art, which is basically using objects that already have some other defined purpose, and turning it into art. In this case, trash is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garbage patch</span> Gyre of marine debris

A garbage patch is a gyre of marine debris particles caused by the effects of ocean currents and increasing plastic pollution by human populations. These human-caused collections of plastic and other debris are responsible for ecosystem and environmental problems that affect marine life, contaminate oceans with toxic chemicals, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Once waterborne, marine debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bondi Pavilion</span>

The Bondi Surf Pavilion in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, is an outstanding beach cultural icon of Australia, together with the beach, park and surf lifesaving club. The structure is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register 01786 as well as by Waverley Council. The building has also been listed by the Heritage Council. According to the National Trust it "has come to represent the Australian culture of beach bathing and outdoors living".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Ocean garbage patch</span> Gyre of marine litter in the Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean garbage patch, discovered in 2010, is a marine garbage patch, a gyre of marine litter, suspended in the upper water column of the central Indian Ocean, specifically the Indian Ocean Gyre, one of the five major oceanic gyres. The patch does not appear as a continuous debris field. As with other patches in each of the five oceanic gyres, the plastics in it break down to ever smaller particles, and to constituent polymers. As with the other patches, the field constitutes an elevated level of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris; primarily particles that are invisible to the naked eye. The concentration of particle debris has been estimated to be approximately 10,000 particles per square kilometer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hague</span> Australian artist

Robert Hague, is an Australian artist living and working in Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known for his metal and marble sculpture and his detailed lithographic print work.

The 5 Gyres Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that focuses on reducing plastics pollution by focusing on primary research. Programs concentrate on science, education and adventure. Since 2017, 5 Gyres has been in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The organization's 2015 Expedition was featured in the 2017 documentary "Smog of the Sea," produced by Jack Johnson, who participated in the voyage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bailey (artist)</span> New Zealand sculptor (born 1965)

Chris Bailey is a Māori sculptor and carver. Bailey studied Māori language and Māori material culture at the University of Auckland under Dante Bonica. He lives and works on Waiheke Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veronica Herber</span> New Zealand artist

Veronica Herber is a New Zealand artist who lives and works in Auckland. She is best known for working with Japanese Washi tape.

Pam Longobardi is an American contemporary artist and ecofeminist, currently living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. She is known internationally for sculptural works and installations created from plastic debris, primarily from marine and coastal environments, as a primary material. Much of her work includes community-based research, such as carbon or plastic audits, as well as collaborative art creation.

Judith Selby Lang is an American artist and environmental activist working with found beach plastic. Selby Lang is known for sourcing beach plastic from a single site: 1000 yards of Kehoe Beach along the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, and then turning that plastic into artworks. Selby Lang works both independently and with her partner Richard Lang.

Rox De Luca is an Australian visual artist whose work examines environmental issues and sustainability through sculpture and public art, predominantly made from found plastics. Her work is held by multiple national and regional collections including Artbank, Deakin University Art Collection (Victoria), New England Regional Art Museum, and Edith Cowan University, and at Royal Perth Hospital and University of Sydney Union.

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