Over my time as an artist and environmental advocate, I’ve seen the maturing of the environmental debate with a growing awareness that technology can be a key driver for sustainability.
As an artist I strongly believe the arts, through all its creative expressions, can act as a powerful facilitator for social change. Art gives people permission to engage, ask questions and understand amongst the noise of conflicting information. While technology is not the whole answer, over the past few years Ive been creating art that provides a way to have conversations about the over consumption patterns of our society.
My early art exploration, known as Project Reclaim, addressed concerns about the waste associated with modern living, to provide a heightened appreciation of our local environment and consciousness of the resources we use and to question where all our waste ends up. These pieces utilise remnant fabrics and discarded materials combined with organic materials, such as branches and seedpods to create unique bespoke sculptural forms. They aim to give a more subtle environmental message about reuse and attempt to create a connection so that a viewer would want to keep and nurture the pieces.
More recently I have extended my practice and the message about sustainability through the integration of solar powered technology and efficient LED lighting, to create art pieces that draw attention to the viability of renewable energy. I’ve been experimenting with various solar technologies from affordable Photovoltaic Cells (PV), to a new generation of higher cost, more robust thin film solar cells.
I’m aiming to create pieces that both utilise and show different forms of solar technology, sculptures that act as source of energy and are powered by the energy it captures, creating a self-sustaining energy system. These promote both the aesthetic nature of the pieces, the potential of the technology and create conversations about sustainability by drawing attention to the viability of renewable energy.
Checkout www.projectreclaim.com.au or mariasimonelli.com.au
