The Last Ocean installation r by Jen Lewin at Burning Man 2022 – All photos by Matt Emmi, ©Jenlewin Studio.

Architecture, Art – An unconsolable polar bear stares at the last patch of water on the planet in the desert-scape of the Burning Man festival. With The Last Ocean art and design project, American contemporary artists Jen Lewin explores the crisis of ocean plastic pollution. The artist harnessed her innovative and in-house-developed mesh network LED technology to create a glowing sea/pond composed of 300 interactive pentagonal tilings, each made from reclaimed and recycled ocean plastic.

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During the day, The Last Ocean highlights the transformation of reclaimed ocean plastic with a swirled surface of blue and white particulate. At night, it glows with vibrant animated light. Participants can splash and dance in waves of light, illuminating our oceans’ organic and powerful nature.

“Last Ocean seeks to inspire and educate. At the same time, it impacts the recovery of our oceans through the use of reclaimed ocean plastic.” Jen Lewin told Archipanic.

Indeed, after being told by many US plastic manufacturers that commercial plastic fabrication methods with reclaimed or recycled ocean plastic were not feasible, the artist began working with Ocean Plastic Technologies, a South African company that has developed and is delivering a circular economy for ocean, ocean-bound and post-consumer plastics. “Using proprietary technology, they are inventing, refining, and promoting the use of reclaimed waste plastics in manufacturing.”

So far, less than 70% of reclaimed ocean plastic is recycled due to the prohibitive costs of separating the mix of different plastics. OPT’s innovative recycling and manufacturing processes enable a cost-effective, sustainable solution that can both remove and re-purpose reclaimed ocean and other waste plastics at their source before entering our ecosystems – starting with recycling into South Africa’s impoverished communities.

From here, Jen Lewin teamed up with the OPT team to finalize the fabrication of the pentagonal LED-powered tilings from a recycled plastic component. Obviously, the installation won’t be burnt at the festival. Its message and innovative technology are set to educate and inspire future mesmerising installations.

All photos by Matt Emmi, ©Jen Lewin.