To all of you out there who used to make seashell necklaces on the beach as kids – did you ever think of making one of these?
Beautiful beaches can be found all over the Middle East, but unfortunately many of them are plagued by unnatural waste. During the hot summer months it is a common pastime to go down to the beach for some natural air conditioning (as opposed to unnaturally air conditioned beaches), but the result is all too often that a lot of waste is left on the beaches. The most ubiquitous form of beach waste is cigarette butts, but Israeli designer Koby Sibony’s beach waste sculptures teach us that there are many other types of beach trash out there.
Ocean Parts is a series of sculptures created by Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design graduate Sibony, all made out of plastic debris that he collected on the beach. (Thank you, by the way, for helping clean up the beaches!)
The trash is connected with metal wire to form whimsical, one-of-a-kind creations. In Sibony’s hands, plastic bottle caps, pieces of childrens’ plastic toys, remote controls and plastic tupperware turn into fantastical masks and futuristic-looking vehicles.
If only more people would clean up our beaches in this fun way and turn trash into treasure! Or, to take it even further, if only our beaches didn’t contain all of this unnatural debris to begin with! Thankfully the world is filled with artists who find creative solutions to these problems.
Read more about Middle Eastern beaches::
Is Dubai’s Refrigerated Beach One Excess Too Far?
Israel Cleans Up Its Act and Recycles Its Beach Waste
Cigarette Cones, So You Don’t Butt Out on the Beach
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
