National Geographic has chosen Bologna to present the exhibition Planet or Plastic? From 13 April to 22 September in the complex of Santa Maria della Vita the exhibition remains open to the public. An important piece of the campaign to save the planet from the invasion of plastic, put together by National Geographic itself. Among the partners of the exhibition, in addition to the Municipality of Bologna, Genus Bononiae, Musei nella Città and the Carisbo Foundation.
Plastic has changed our lives. Who more than the Italians who experienced the economic boom in the 60s with the advent of everything built and advertised in plastic, will he be able to appreciate this exhibition? Then came the abuse, as big companies continued to churn out products of all kinds. From electronics to healthcare to transport, all easy and consumerist. The numbers and not only Italians? A total world production of 8,3 billion objects. 6,3 billion have become waste and moreover almost immanent in the environment. If we don't treat them first, they tell us, they can hang around for 400 more years. Therefore, let them try to understand the consumers, which are all of us, what is happening.
The exhibition curated by Marco Cattaneo, Director of National GeographicItalia and by the editorial staff, in collaboration with the documentary maker Alessandra Viola, presents the photographs of the great reporters of the newspaper Alongside the artistic work of Mandy Barker, who has chosen to collect plastic waste from all the world for one of his photographic projects. Furthermore, in the Bolognese halls, also the vision of Iceberg, by Francesca Pasquali, an artist famous because in her work she re-evaluates everyday objects, such as plastic straws. To make the environmental and sustainability message even more incisive il National documentary Geographic Punto di non ritorno by the Oscar-winning director Fisher Stevens e by Leonardo di Caprio,Oscar Prize he is also a Messenger of Peace on behalf of the UN. Together the two American stars present a report on climate change which has a lot to do with the spread of plastic in the seas and oceans.
In the end, the exhibition and narrative synthesis in Bologna is gathered in eight major themes: from the quantity of plastic produced in the world, to the impact on the environment and on the food chain, from reuse, to individual and collective education.Da spectators fwe will have self-awareness, and we will ask ourselves what to do in everyday life to lower this enormous amount of risk. The organizers will help us, because in the invitation to Santa Maria della Vita, they say to bring plastic bottles with us. One for each and leave them in a large container provided. An artistic differentiated collection?No. Those bottles will be part of a future traveling architectural installation for the international competition of ideas Plastic Monument – Architectural Design Competition. During the opening period of the exhibition, young architects will also compete for an ambassador installation of environmental protection and sensitivity promoted by the company YAC - Young Architects Competitions, present in the promotion of international competitions of ideas, together with Bio-On, a leading structure in the bioplastics sector .
The amount of plastic on the planet will only decrease when we adopt alternative and concrete solutions. Trust the organizers. Art helps, it raises sensitivity, but it's time for industry to do its part to change collective behaviors induced by so many powerful commercial networks that are still not quick (?!) to understand the disasters that National Geographic causes us ahead until September.
Cover image: Festive and ceremonial gadgets in a shop in Yiwu, the city of international trade in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China.
Photograph by Richard John Seymour
