Art from the ocean at Living Coasts

An exhibition of art made out of marine litter has washed up at Living Coasts in Torquay. My Sea, Your Sea. Keep it Litter Free delivers a strong, simple message - we have to stop treating the sea like a rubbish dump.

Living Coasts Operations Manager Clare Rugg said: “This is a fantastic exhibition. It’s fun and intriguing and will appeal to all ages. As a charity, Living Coasts is dedicated to marine conservation, so this exhibition is perfect for us.”

The central exhibition will be seen in 14 countries across Europe, with each country adding contributions from local artists. The project, which is being led in the UK by Plymouth University, is designed to engage and educate people on the issue of marine litter. The Rame Peninsula Beach Care Group and Wembury Marine Centre volunteers collected all the marine litter used in the exhibition and art displays from local Cornwall and Devon beaches.

Attention grabbing and thought provoking, the My Sea, Your Sea. Keep it Litter Free exhibition combines information about the sources of marine litter, the problems it causes and what we can all do to reduce the problem with visually striking art installations.

TruCost Super M-Art consists of a mock supermarket stocked with thousands of consumer products washed up on South West shores, including plastic drinks bottles, lighters, flip-flops, shampoo bottles, cleaning products, cutlery and toys.

Clare: “All the products in this supermarket were collected by local beach cleaning groups – the artists are using the familiar shopping environment to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the marine environment and to inspire visitors to use plastic in more sustainable ways.”

The exhibition has been created by MARLISCO (MARine LItter in European Seas: Social AwarenesS and CO-Responsibility). This three-year EU funded project is made up of a range of organisations including NGOs, universities, local authorities, coastal management bodies and the plastics industry. http://www.marlisco.eu/

Living Coasts is holding beach cleans at Beacon Cove on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September between 10.00 am and 2:00 pm each day. For more information go to: http://www.livingcoasts.org.uk/