Plastic Heart: A DIY Fieldguide for Reducing the Environmental Impact of Art Exhibitions

Produced by the Synthetic Collective for the exhibition Plastic Heart: Surface All the Way Through (Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Fall 2021), this Fieldguide gives a step by step overview of curating less carbon intensive exhibitions.

A comprehensive investigation of industrial plastic pellets on beaches across the Laurentian Great Lakes and the factors governing their distribution

In 2018-19, the Synthetic Collective sampled from 66 beaches on the shores of the Laurentian Great Lakes. We collected 12,595 industrial plastic pellets from 66 10x1m sq quadrats. Also known as nurdles or “mermaids’ tears,” pellets are the feedstock of

Embracing an Interdisciplinary Approach to Plastics Pollution Awareness and Action

Led by Sara Belontz, the Synthetic Collective published their first co-written paper. It’s not open source yet, but will be soon (or, drop me a line and I’ll send you a copy). Sara Belontz, Patricia Corcoran, Heather Davis, Kathleen Hill,

Understanding Plastics Pollution: Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Forensic Methodology

image: sampling for micro-plastics at Lake Huron, Great Lakes Plastics Pollution Think Tank, summer 2016 This is a SSHRC-funded project, of which I am a co-applicant. Other members are Kelly Jazvac (PI), Kelly Wood (co-applicant), Patricia Corcoran (co-applicant), Heather Davis