Under this clean white exterior I’m a right dirty beach
Brighton Beach
Warm water and sea water squirted around letter stencils
Duration 02.02.09 – later that day 02.02.09
It's not every day that snow settles on Brighton Beach, and this rare opportunity to write a vaguely rude message on the beach was the starting point for more non-lasting graffiti. Brighton’s main beaches are cleaned very early every morning, giving Brighton residents little opportunity to see the debris that is washed up and left there. The pebbles will also hide many of the smaller, broken-down plastic fragments that refuse to disappear.
Thanks Anne, Grant and Rupert
Weapons of mass production
Brighton Beach
Home-made tempera paint brushed through stencil
Duration 23.04.09 – 26.04.09 (to be repeated during May)
It's estimated that our modern societies produce over 60 billion tons of plastic material every year, much of it single-use ‘disposables’. Plastic’s sturdiness and durability means that it doesn’t bio-degrade, it photo-degrades, breaking down into smaller
toxic bits. These bits persist in the environment for possibly hundreds of years,
contaminating soil, waterways and oceans, and entering the food chain.
Plastic is ... forever
The Albert Pub, Brighton
Moss culture encouraging mix, brushed through stencil
Duration 05.04.09 - present day (still being encouraged to grow)
Plastic’s an amazing material – aside from its massive oil use?... It’s durable, stable, waterproof, protective and has incredible longevity etc. These qualities are what make it also environmentally detrimental; it remains ‘forever’ in our environment. Every plastic item we’ve ever owned or used, unless incinerated, still exists in some form on the planet.
The ‘Banksy’ piece on the side of the pub has been protected with plastic. Quite a funny decision, but certainly the perfect material for the job.
Mermaid's tears
Shoreham Beach
Wire brush applied through stencil, removing algae & lichen
Duration 02.04.09 – present day
"Mermaid's tears" is the evocative sounding term used to describe industrial pre-production plastic pellets; small, tear-shaped beads of plastic that are now prevalent on beaches the world over. Their small size means that they're often concealed beneath the surface of sand or pebbles, making them almost impossible to clear up.
Beach Invaders (series 1-3)
Shoreham Beach
Holes filled with shingle, painted with beetroot juice mix (one large jar, pickled couple of years ago, since gone a bit weird)
Duration 29.03.09 – 30.03.04
The octagonal grid of sea defences on Shoreham beach brought to mind the pixels of early videogames. A retro ’80s classic re-born.
Compared to levels in MCS Beachwatch 1994, the average density of litter ‘invading’ our beaches from in-shore and off-shore has risen by over 110%. Hopefully it’s not ‘game over’.
Thanks Anne, Grant, Lou, Martin, Imogen, Sian, Vanessa and Savaria
Beach Invaders (series 1-3)
Beach Invaders (series 1-3)
Beaches are getting dirtier (series 1-4)
Brighton Beach - four sides of one structure
Home-made tempera paint pump sprayed through stencils
Duration 26.04.09 – at least 29.02.09 (time of writing and to be repeated during May)
Since its first mass use and heyday in the ’50s, plastic is now commonplace for disposable items. 60-ish years later, plastic debris can now be found on every beach in the world. This change over a couple of generations led to an exploration of classic "seedy seaside" themes that Brighton's been no stranger to over the years; titillating amusements, saucy postcards and "Something for the weekend?"
Beaches are getting dirtier (series 1-4)
Punch & Judy
Beaches are getting dirtier (series 1-4)
Horses
Beaches are getting dirtier (series 1-4)
What the butler saw
Clean white van
Home-made tempera paint brushed through stencils
Duration 23.04.09 for a few hours only
Everything about this van is cleaner - from the usual derogatory scrawlings (here flipped on their head) to the bio-diesel it runs on. (Vaguely) medical drawings or words can never be rude can they?
