As storm clouds gather over a forgotten beach in China’s Miaodao islands, artist Fu Junsheng picks his way through piles of plastic waste washed up along the shoreline, looking for inspiration.
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China is the world’s largest plastic producer, and the islands – a niche tourist destination – sit in the cross-stream of several highly developed eastern peninsulas.
Every squall brings fresh waves of floating debris onto the archipelago’s white sand beaches – and, eight years ago, Fu decided to make that waste both his artistic message and medium.
“Our generation has witnessed rapid societal development. In the process, we’ve sometimes neglected nature, and at times, even ignored it altogether,” the 36-year-old says as he shows the contents of his studio, full of pieces created from plastic washed ashore.
One of the most striking installations features nearly 900 flip-flops, displayed in front of his seascape oil paintings.