‘Gyrecraft’ is a new project by radical design practice, Studio Swine, in which they have transformed plastic pollution found at sea into a collection of luxury objects. The title derives from a combination of the word ‘Gyre’ (circular currents in an ocean basin where plastic pollution concentrates) and two distinct meanings of the word ‘Craft’: skill, dexterity and art – and also a vessel in which you sail.
‘Gyrecraft’ was the focus of an expedition across the North Atlantic Ocean, undertaken by Studio Swine co-founders, Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami in the autumn of 2014. They embarked on a journey of 1000 nautical miles, collecting plastic on the way from Azores to the Canaries through the North Atlantic Gyre. In order to transform this plastic flotsam and jetsam into luxury, desirable objects, they invented and built their own Solar Extruder, which melts and extrudes sea plastic using the Sun.
In the swirling gyre, most of the plastics break down into tiny fragments that are spread over massive stretches of the ocean. Owing to their size, they are incredibly difficult to recover in any large quantity, making this once disposable material very precious. In the Gyrecraft collection, Studio Swine uses sea plastic as a valuable and desirable material reminiscent of turtle shell and corals. The five objects represent the five major ocean gyres. The aim is to use plastic in a more artisan, innovative way, which adds value to an undesirable material while drawing attention to the prevalence of a largely invisible problem throughout the world's oceans.
The project was also an exploration into maritime crafts, which utilize what the sea provides in every coastal or island culture around the world, each with its own unique identity. Traditionally, many of these crafts took place onboard during long voyages as a way of making vital repairs or simply passing the time at sea. For example, inspired by ‘Scrimshaw’ a traditional maritime craft of the Azores islands -the art of etching drawings onto whale’s teeth – Studio Swine has created a whale’s tooth made of plastic collected from the sea using the machine.Gyrecraft is the intersection of the dwindling and under-valued heritage of local maritime crafts and the rapid rise of sea plastic pollution.
The project is currently on show at Selfridges & Co in its Ultralounge gallery as part of the store's Project Ocean campaign, which is focused on entirely removing plastic bags and single-use plastic water bottles from its store. The show is on until the end of August.
The works are available for sale or commissions though London Connoisseur.
The North Atlantic Gyre is situated near the Azores. These islands had a major whaling industry that was driven by the global demand for whale oil in a time before the discovery of petroleum. The Azores has a long tradition of scrimshaw craft, which is a form of engraving on whale teeth. This was usually practised to relieve boredom and maintain order amongst the crew when there was neither wind nor whales.
The South Atlantic is renowned for treacherous storms whipping around the great capes of South America and Africa in a stretch of sea called the Roaring Forties. This vessel refers to the many Polar expeditions that cross this dangerous passage.
North Pacific Gyre, 2015
Sea plastic, green abalone shells, brass, rope, shackle.
H33cm W22cm D12cm
The first gyre was discovered by Captain Charles Moore in the North Pacific. The stretch of sea between Russia and Alaska is notorious for industrial-scale crab fishing. Studies on crabs, which inhabit the depths of the Bering Strait, have found increasing plastic particles in their respiratory systems.
The South Pacific has the largest expanse of water in the world. Sailors in this area can be so remote that the nearest people to them are orbiting above their heads in the International Space Station. Island communities in the South Pacific have survived and thrived entirely on the sea. As a result they have developed a distinctive vernacular style of maritime crafts with a complex gift-giving culture centred on precious materials, such as turtle shell, black pearls and tropical hardwoods.
The Indian Ocean has some of the heaviest shipping traffic in the world. Many cargo ships have spilled their loads in the giant waves and as many as 10,000 container crates are lost each year around the globe. This plinth envisages a new plastic craft made by the Sentinelese people of the Andaman Islands, the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world. Although isolated from the modern world, they receive the newest synthetic materials in the form of ocean plastic washed up on their shores.