‘Artivist’ explores society’s relationship with plastic

‘Artivist’ explores society’s relationship with plastic

Casablanca-based artist Soukaïna Aziz El Idrissi aims to counter pollution by creating her works of art out of waste materials.

Soukaina Aziz El Idrissi, Plastic Artist. © Energy Observer
PARIS:
Casablanca-based artist Soukaïna Aziz El Idrissi’s work reflects the duality of plastic, at once fantastic and horrible. With creation tending to generate waste, she aims to counter this movement by creating her works out of waste materials.

And the results are sculptures that you might never guess were made out of plastic.

The plastic drama: a noble and durable material, used on a grand scale for short-lived, disposable consumer goods. Through her work, Soukaina questions this material and what we do with it.

The journey of an ‘Artivist’

Born in 1987, Soukaïna Aziz El Idrissi lives and works in Casablanca. Educated at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Soukaina describes herself as an “Artivist”, which is a combination of an artist and an activist.

After nine years in London where she studied and taught, she headed back to Morocco where she opted to continue her research into plastic waste as a social phenomenon and explore all the possibilities offered up by the material with the aim of calling into question its use value and our perception of it.

Zero Zbel, questioning oneself through Art

Co-founder of the Zero Zbel association, Soukaina has retained a mixture of fascination and hatred for plastic from an early age.

Both a blessing and a curse, for her plastic is akin to nuclear fission, namely a fantastic discovery for mankind, which we have turned into a weapon of mass destruction.

Through her works, all of which are made from plastic waste, Soukaina is seeking to raise awareness.

During COP 22 in 2016 in Morocco, she created a maze using 17-tonne blocks of plastic bottles, which equates to a lifetime’s waste produced by a single Moroccan.

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