"Plasticland" | Video by Richard Ingersoll | Food dal Cucchiaio al Mondo | MAXXI | Rome

San Agustin, Almeria (Spain). Picture by Yann Arthus Bertrand

Plasticland is an observation of the increasing quantity of plastic used in contemporary agricultural landscape. The aerial photograph of the San Agustin territory east of Almeria by Yann Arthus Bertrand, provides a stunning image of 40.000 hectares of land obliterated by polyethylene and polyvinylchloride covered greenhouses.

"The Comb Bench" at MAXXI - Food dal Cucchiaio al Mondo by Stefano Barbagli

Tiziano Trevisiol makes use of black plastic mulch sheets for “Hanging Farms”, three prisms that decontextualize a material that is widely diffused for crops such as strawberries and asparagus. The Comb Bench (Panchina Pettine) by Stefano Barbagli shows how recycled plastic can be put to good use while the video Plasticland considers the aesthetic impact of agricultural plastic and looks into alternatives, especially the very promising field of bioplastics. The dangers of plastics that are not properly disposed of, influence the health of local populations as well as larger realms such as the oceans, where currently partially decomposed plastics are having a lethal effect on fish.

"Plasticland", MAXXI - Food dal Cucchiaio al Mondo by Richard Ingersoll & Severino Iritano

Plastic is everywhere in the production of modern farms, rarely noticed, often extremely useful, but also full of environmental degradation, damaging to the soil and to the seas.