By Ethan Tutor
The Scene staff
A peculiar figure has taken up residence on a bench on the fourth floor of G Tower.
He’s made of clear packing tape and surrounded by milk jugs, egg cartons, water bottles and plastic bags that flow into the hallway. There’s even a pizza box.
“The person represents a man looking into the ocean at the trash that pollutes the sea,” said Christy Lin, 39, a fine arts student who created the sculpture.
Lin wanted to bring issues of plastic waste and other pollution to the forefront at Forest Park and spur conversation.
“I’m not trying to create guilt for people, just raise the question of what we can do to make a difference,” she said.
“Can we refuse plastic bags? Do we have to depend on plastic every time? Can you use one bag to carry everything instead of five separate bags?”
Students, faculty and staff can’t help but notice the sculpture, titled “Reflecting on Creation.” It measures 8 feet wide by 8 feet deep by 4 feet tall.
Next to it is an artist statement that explains Lin’s philosophy and process.
“It’s immersive and very provoking,” said studio arts major Brian Hogan, 38. “It kinda grabs you and pulls you into it.”
1,000 years to decompose
The Ocean Conservancy estimates that 6.4 million tons of garbage are floating in the world’s oceans and that an additional 15,000 pieces of plastic are dumped in it every day.
The environmental problem is made worse by the fact that it takes more than 1,000 years for some plastics to decompose.
Lin created the sculpture for an assignment in her Design IV class. Art professor Mario Carlos asked students to pick a site on the Forest Park campus and transform it into their vision.
“I think Christy’s art installation was very successful,” he said. “Not just for the craftsmanship, but also for its form and relevant content. It opened up an important conversation and intense discussion during class critique.”
Lin spent two weeks to create the sculpture, including five hours for the man. He’s sitting on the bench, so she had to squat for up to 40 minutes at a time.
“I used lots of packing tape and had my friend wrap it around my leg multiple times and cut it again and again to make the body,” she said. “So the person in the hallway is actually, literally my body.”
Photography professor Jamie Kreher shares Lin’s environmental concerns and praises the sculpture.
“It definitely deals with a serious issue,” she said. “This conundrum with humans is that (plastic) allows for incredible convenience but with lots of flipsides. We’ve grown so dependent on it that we don’t know how to stop.”
Others just like the looks of the sculpture.
“It was really neat, how the whole body was made out of plastic,” said office information systems student Kaitlyn Franklin, 20.
General studies student Tyrell Smith described the sculpture as “mysterious.”
“He looks like he has some problems,” Smith said.
Immigrant from Taiwan
Lin goes by “Christy,” but her legal name is Tz Cheng Lin. She emigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 2008 after already earning a marketing degree and working in business.
Her husband is American. She became a U.S. citizen last year.
Lin is studying art and English as a second language at Forest Park. She hasn’t yet decided what to do next, keeping her options open.
“I really enjoy painting and drawing.” Lin said. “I like to create with my hands, you know. I like doing something physical.”