Plastic is not always cost-effective to recycle and therefore large amounts of plastic are dumped in Asia from the Western world. Plastic pollution creates problems for marine life and affects fisheries, creating further complications for an already vulnerable and economically fragile group of people in the so-called third world.

In the exhibition Poly, photographer Olof Jarlbro starts from questions about the consequences of plastic dumping and how it relates to sustainable production. Plastic is part of our everyday life and the latest report shows that in Sweden we use 150 kilos of plastic per person per year. The majority of this is packaging. Around eight million tons of plastic end up globally in our oceans every year and it is estimated that 150 million tons of plastic circulate in the oceans today.

The name of the exhibition, Poly, is short for polythene and the most common manufacturing form of plastic. It is a polymer that is mainly used for packaging such as plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and PET bottles. It was in Olof Jarlbro’s previous project that he came into contact with plastic pollution and became interested in documenting this social problem. Poly documents the consequences of plastic dumping with photographs from Vietnam, the Philippines, India and Indonesia. To get a deeper insight into the subject, Jarlbro has also interviewed some of the people who work with collecting plastic.

Entrance SEK 120: the entrance gives you access to all our exhibitions Free entry: for children and young people up to and including 18 years of age and with the Kulturkortet.

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