EVENT 2 - Jess Irish

May 13, 2022

EVENT 2 - Jess Irish

Event Post – Guest Lecture: Jessica Irish 5/12

This week, I had the pleasure of attending Jessica Irish’s lecture about her work and documentary on plastics and its impact on the world. Her work does well of combining science and art to bring awareness on the issue of pollution and efficiently calls to action institutions such as the government, corporations, and other communities.

Irish, Jess. This Moral Plastik. Screenshot. 2021.

Jessica Irish’s film, "This Mortal Plastik", discusses plastic and its impact on future generations through the consumption of microplastics. She enlightens the audience on how the lifeless (plastic) will surpass our living. In other words, we will perish and these objects of our creation will remain on Earth, more specifically our oceans. At one point, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. She goes further by providing factual details on how much plastic there is. “234 pounds of plastic waste are generated by one person per year." (Irish).

Irish, Jess. This Moral Plastik. Screenshot. 2021

Jess Irish’s work made me interested in researching other art forms that discuss this issue of pollution and the environment. Artist, Michael Pinsky, showcases the effects of air pollution through his project “Pollution Pods” which are domes that imitate the quality of air of certain areas (“Turning Air Pollution into Art”). Further, Professor Vesna mentioned the “Noise Aquarium” during this event which is also another form of combining art and science to demonstrate the impact of noise pollution on plankton (“Noise Aquarium”). These art pieces do well of using scientific research to spread awareness of various forms of pollution.

This event was enlightening and I would recommend others to look into Jessica’s work. Rather than stating scientific discoveries and facts, she uses art to invoke thinking among her audience along with emotion. “Many examples of art intersecting with science exist around us, but these…illustrate how art is crucial in helping us understand our scientific legacy and how science is well served by applying an artistic lens” (“The STEAMy Relationship Between Art and Science”). I think Jessica’s work does well of showcasing and helping us understand the legacy we are leaving behind through the production of these plastics. It also helps us better understand how science is beneficial to visualizing how our future will look like and persuading individuals to take action.