Lumenhouse is pleased to present Convergence, a group exhibition organized in affiliation with Project Vortex, a non-for-profit organization committed to reusing plastic debris from our oceans and shorelines. The exhibition is curated by Mariko Tanaka.

Featured Artists: Miwa Koizumi , Yuko Oda, Portia Munson, Aurora Robson, Anne Percoco, Tyrome Tripoli, Annie Varnot

This exhibition brings together seven contemporary artists responding to the current environmental crisis in our oceans. The title references convergence zones – the ocean currents that collect the vast floating islands of non-biodegradable trash, the largest of which are several thousand miles across. Each artist’s work, in concert with the mission of Project Vortex, suggests creative possibilities for reuse of plastic and other consumer byproduct materials that often otherwise enter the waste stream.

From Miwa Koizumi’s delicate hybrid jellyfish made of PET bottles, to Yuko Oda’s carefully crafted swarm of shopping bag butterflies to Aurora Robson’s biologically intricate sculptural PET life forms, offering serious and inspiring explorations of the tension between the synthetic and natural worlds. Anne Percoco’s Indra’s Cloud documents a floating raft comprised of over 1000 plastic bottles constructed to draw attention to the polluted conditions of the Yamuna River in India. In a related vein, Annie Varnot’s work creates evocative abstract topographies from thousands of plastic straws.

Convergence looks to new approaches and potential ways artists can alter how we think about our environment, re-examining our values in terms of consumption and waste.

50% of proceeds of sales from the Convergence exhibit will go to Project Vortex and Project Kaisei, 2 non-profit organizations focused on eliminating plastic debris from our oceans and shorelines.