Art with a Purpose

Located in the Pond of Poisonous Provisions, and floating between 135˚W to 155˚W and 35˚N to 42˚N lies the city of Litterin, the “flamboyant” capital of the country known as The United Flotsam of Garbagea.

Heard of it? Unfortunately, not enough people have. Those who do know what Garbagea is about may recognize it by its more familiar name, The Pacific Trash Vortex. It is an area in the North Pacific Ocean approximately the size of Texas, and highly concentrated with tiny particles of plastic, chemical waste, and other debris trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. According to Listverse.com, it is one of the top 10 places NOT to visit, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit the United Flotsam of Garbagea. The fictional country was founded and brought to light in order to spread awareness of a very real problem. Asher Jay, the founder of this platform, is an up-and-coming artist, writer, and activist, whose artworks are not only objects of beauty, but also a means to call attention to environmental issues.

At its core Garbagea is a non-commercial, inclusive online forum that invites artists, activists, and anyone who cares about the environment really, to contribute with images and observations. The site is user-friendly, and filled with educational tidbits packaged in clever dialogue and delicious sarcasm.

Everyone knows the harm we’ve caused our planet, but not everyone knows to what extent, nor how to help. The first step is awareness, and all it takes is a click on www.garbagea.com to become part of the solution in a very creative way.

On November 12, 2011, Asher commemorated the founding of this country with an exhibition of artworks and a video installation at Hudson Terrace in New York City. All artworks incorporated trash collected over a two month period, and helped to promote the website where everyone is welcome to participate and join in on the discussion. Below are a few images from the event as well as images of the artwork: