In my own creativity it would not have been possible for me to create a body of work like I have done, had it not been for the rampant consumerism that we now face on the planet. I’m not saying that I’m grateful for it, like I said in the media in the late 90s, I would also looking forward to a time when there would be no beach plastics washing up on our shores, as then I would simply move on to another medium which would express other contemporary concerns.
In many ways because there is much less plastics on the beaches around where I live these days, I have also naturally moved on. I began working with recycled plastic bags, painting seascapes of the beaches I walked so many years collecting rubbish off and lately, working with recycled dead trees.
So in one sense yes, in my case consumption has encouraged artistic expression. I am not the only one, there are many more like me who are making successful comments on today’s consumerist society in various ways and mediums.
Whether creativity suffers from the limitations of the consumption ruled world is another question. I believe it also does that. What I mean here, is that I see much art that is a product of the limitations of consumption and as a result it comes across as being very frivolous, shallow and often large simply for the sake of being large and often overbearing, carrying the unstated belief that ‘bigger is better’. I also see a lot of art these days that is being made intentionally for a short-term purpose and often has the look of being a cheap manufactured object with little value. This type of production I believe undermines the true value of the creative process and of art itself. So in this sense yes, this is where I feel creativity to suffer from the limitations of the consumption ruled world.
