“The plastic-problem so called… A simple walk on any beach, anywhere, and the plastic waste spectacle is present. Even the most utopian places are not immune anymore…”
Marisa Papen has been working on her amazing project #plasticsushi for the past months, with the main message to raise awaraness about the pollution of our ocean which she translated into a calendar. “I traveled around to meet up with different photographers to visualize the plastic-problem. And I collected some outtakes that I’d like to share with the world to make a little advertising for the project. A big part of the profit is going to “Mission Blue”, it’s an organization that keeps our Oceans clean.” explains Marisa to us and we figured that we by all means wanted to hear more about it.
Tell us a bit about the project
We’ve been touching nature with reckless force and soon we have to pay the price. All sea animals, from the biggest to the microscopic organisms are breathing toxic seawater infused with chemicals from plastic decomposition. Since we, as humans, eat fish that have eaten other fish, which have eaten toxin-saturated plastics, we are eating our own waste. You’d ask yourself, how senseless could we be? Poisoning ourselves… Poisoning other animals… Poisoning the world… Things have got to change. Right now.
You said that the images of „playing paddle tennis is my grandma btw, they’re superspecial for me“?
I have a very strong connection with my grandmom, creating something for this project together with her was really special for me. We drove all the way to the Dutch shore, had a great lunch together and just before sunset we took these images. At first she was kind of shy but very quickly she loosened up. It was beautiful!
How did you start the project? Why nude? And how did you choose the photographers?
At the beginning of 2016 I decided that one of my projects this year would be to create a Calendar. 12 beautiful, sensual images in a dreamy set-up. This idea soon became less appealing, somehow it just seemed too easy. One afternoon of shooting with a great photographer and it would be a wrap. Selling it for 50bucks – Cha-ching!! (If a few thousand people would find it word spending their money on of course) I wanted a project that would take over my mind. Something that would inspire me. Something where my creativity could flow lavishly and where I’d have the opportunity to collaborate with different artists from all around the world. But most importantly, something for a good cause. Some of the images just got taken along the way. For instance the image with the sea-lion was taken while Michael and I were hiking at the West-Coast of Oahu (Hawaii) He was just resting surrounded by plastic, really slowly I went closer and closer till I was just a few inches away, resting next to him. I worked specifically with people who are super connected with nature as well, just like me.
What can we do in everydays life to avoid plastic?
Try to avoid single-use plastic, I mean just don’t use/buy it. I always have a thermal water bottle with me. You really can make a difference!
by Jasper Suyk
by Brian Bowen Smith
by Christopher Von Steinbach
by Christian Vizl
by Emily Labouérie
by Stefan Rappo
by Daniël Bandido
#notjustanotherselfie
“I could have taken this photo right after the everyday beach clean-up but I wanted to show what every beautiful morning in Bali looks like. This is reality. This is happening. Every single day.” Marisa Papen
