Care Packaging

Abstract

Care Packaging presents a ceramic artist’s perspective on waste streams as a resource, rather than a source of pollution. Forrest Leonard focuses on Styrofoam, which despite being recyclable occupies 30% of landfills worldwide. In Hawai‘i, Styrofoam packaging waste increased alongside online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, a sign that the climate crisis continues in spite of lockdowns. Rather than dwell on these negative associations, Leonard reuses the Styrofoam packaging as readymade molds for casting ceramic forms. Utilizing recycled clay and found colorants, he recasts the products the Styrofoam once carried, and adapts them as functional and sculptural ceramics.