An urgent call on the impact of plastic

In the context of the negotiations on the global plastics treaty that took place in Switzerland, Canadian artist Benjamin Von Wong set out to create a piece of high visual impact, as an urgent call to world leaders to reach an agreement that would commit to a tangible solution to address the effects of plastic on the environment and human health.

Located in the Place des Nations, outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, stands a six-meter-high sculpture made of papier-mâché, wood, and steel: a version of French artist Auguste Rodin's statue The Thinker.

In this interpretation, The Thinker is cradling a baby while sitting on Mother Earth, which is covered in living vines. They are both surrounded by a giant strand of DNA, the fundamental component of life. Around the base, piles of bottles, toys, and other plastic objects were added during the weeks of negotiations.

“We're going to be dragging pieces of plastic onto the sculpture. Eventually and hopefully drowning the entire piece in plastics, to highlight the rising cost of inaction around plastic pollution,” said Von Wong.

In collaboration with SLS Illusion & Construktion, a set design studio located in Switzerland, Von Wong assembled all the pieces that shaped the striking work. He also walked the streets of Geneva to collect all kinds of plastic waste, which resulted in an overwhelming amount.

With an investment of approximately $75,000, the artist described "The Thinker's Burden" as one of the most significant projects of his entire career, focused on raising awareness about plastic pollution and its impact on health. The goal was clear: to send a message to world leaders who have the power to decide how to address the lack of regulation in industries that handle plastic, which affects both this generation and future generations.

“I think this art piece will become a way for us to remember why this treaty needs to exist, and that is to protect human health, which means we need to protect the environment, which means we need to address the hard questions”, said Von Wong.

According to the study “Global projections of plastic use, end-of-life fate and potential changes in consumption, reduction, recycling and replacement with bioplastics to 2050”, published on Science Direct, the global use of plastics is expected to increase from 464 Mt in 2020 up to 884 Mt in 2050.

The session on the global plastics treaty in Geneva was suspended without consensus after ten days of negotiations, attended by more than 2,600 participants, approximately 1,400 delegates from 183 countries, and nearly 1,000 observers from 400 organizations, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Sources: Thinker’s Burden, Science Direct and World Economic Forum