WorkArt & Culture

Plants and flowers made entirely from non-recyclable trash illuminated in a dark forest in Berlin

Following on from her dark and dystopian Swan Song installation, a site-specific artwork made entirely of non-recyclable trash, Clare Celeste Börsch is back with Swan Song (II).

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Glowing blue LED-lit flowers and plants made from non-recyclable plastic waste stand in a dark forest setting, with bare tree branches visible above

Set in Berlin, the plants and flowers, illuminated by LED lights, are built from discarded packaging, straws, and other single-use plastics. "Placed outdoors, the natural ecosystem is overtaken by this new and non-biodegradable growth," explains Clare. "The long stalks glow and move with the wind, illuminating the branches and water surrounding them. This artwork is meant to be beautiful and disconcerting, an invitation to contemplate the impact our daily routines have on our planet. Are these the future forests?"

Following a life living in different cultures and environments – Brazil, the US, Italy, Honduras, Argentina and now Germany – Börsch transforms her experiences into "hallucinogenic ecosystems of their own", rich with detail and texture.

Her lush assemblages of fauna and flora exude a visceral and intimate fragility. They speak to the mutable nature of memories as reconstructions that border on mythologies. Börsch's most recent work uses reclaimed rubbish as collage material, creating her signature ecologies using non-biodegradable materials. Discover more: clareceleste.com.

Glowing blue LED-lit plants and flowers made from plastic waste and packaging installed beneath bare tree branches in a dark forest setting
Glowing blue plastic flowers and plant forms made from non-recyclable trash, illuminated against a dark forest background in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
Glowing blue plastic flowers and plants made from non-recyclable waste illuminate a dark forest floor beneath bare branches in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
Glowing blue plastic flowers and plants made from discarded packaging and single-use waste illuminate against dark tree branches in Berlin forest
Glowing blue and teal plants and flowers made from non-recyclable plastic waste illuminate a dark forest setting in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
Glowing blue plastic flowers and plants made from non-recyclable trash beneath twisted tree branches in a dark forest at night
Glowing blue plastic flowers and plants made from non-recyclable trash illuminate a dark forest setting beneath gnarled tree branches
Glowing blue illuminated flowers and plants made from non-recyclable plastic waste and packaging against a dark background with golden lights in Swan Song (II) by Clare Celeste Börsch
Blue illuminated plastic flowers and plants made from non-recyclable waste tower against bare trees in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
Glowing blue plants and flowers made from non-recyclable plastic waste illuminate a dark forest floor beneath bare tree branches in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
Glowing blue artificial flowers and plants made from plastic waste, illuminated with LED lights against a dark background in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation
Blue LED-lit flower and plant sculptures made from non-recyclable plastic waste glow against dark forest vegetation in Clare Celeste Börsch's Swan Song (II) installation in Berlin
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