'Woe Betide Us' by Lynne Chapman
In Autumn 2019, I was invited to create a 4m x 1.5m suspended installation for the entrance to York Racecourse, for the Art& exhibition. 'Woe Betide Us' was the result, using heat-treated plastic bags, hand-stitched together to make a gigantic plastic quilt, which was draped over bolsters made from large plastic water bottles, to create a wave of plastic waste.
The spiky pieces suspended beside the wave were also part of the installation. They are also created from handstitched plastic bags and I call them 'Anenemy'.
I began ‘locking’ single-use plastics within my artwork in 2019, to highlight issues around waste and the short-comings of recycling. Plastics are not easy materials to work with, but I enjoy creating unexpected outcomes from over-familiar, often ugly materials.