12 Million Tons of Plastic Waste Flow Into Oceans Annually! Young Artist Creates Work to Call for Ocean Protection

"Whenever a typhoon or strong wind passes, the ocean seems to vomit, washing up human-made debris that it cannot digest onto the beach."

In the art museum of Yantai Hongkou 1920 Historical and Cultural District, countless discarded soles, broken toys, aquaculture buoys covered with shells, colorful plastic fragments, and various plastic products collected from the beach have sparked heated discussion and reflection among visitors. These seemingly chaotic “marine debris” silently convey the relationship between humans and the ocean as told by artist Fu Junsheng. This exhibition, titled “Coastal Archaeology: The Tidal Scale,” is not just an artistic presentation, but also an “ecological warning letter” from the sea.

Exhibition site Photo provided by the interviewee

After graduating from the Oil Painting Department of the College of Fine Arts at Qingdao University, artist Fu Junsheng came to Changdao, Yantai in 2017 to participate in a public welfare activity. Upon witnessing a large amount of marine debris washed up on an uninhabited beach, he decided to stay on the island and began creating art centered on the theme of marine ecology. For more than eight years, he has focused on collecting and organizing beach debris on the island, using these objects to reflect on the era he lives in and to explore the path of coexistence between human civilization and nature.

A Trend News reporter interviewed this young artist.

The Inspiration for Artistic Creation — The Call of the Sea

Changdao, the island where Fu Junsheng creates his art, is an archipelago located between the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. It is not isolated in the vast ocean; its mature fishing industry and thriving tourism have made this small island flourish. However, occasionally, a streak of alien color swaying on the sea surface mars the beautiful scenery of the blue sea and sky—perhaps an empty plastic bottle, an abandoned slipper, or a damaged aquaculture buoy.

As a native of Yantai, the "sea" has accompanied Fu Junsheng throughout his growth, becoming an emotional anchor etched in his heart. The memories of his family taking him to see the sea during his childhood and the days of sketching by the seaside during his university years have made his feelings for the ocean transcend mere scenery. "It acts like a medium, connecting human emotions," Fu Junsheng stated candidly. Growing up in the countryside, he has witnessed the rapid development of urban and commercial civilization, while also observing the neglect and harm humans have inflicted on their natural home. The animated series "Captain Planet" he watched as a child, with its stories of young people from five continents protecting the environment and saving the Earth, still remains vivid in his mind, constantly reminding him to do something for the ocean he deeply loves.

Since 2017, Fu Junsheng has been collecting beach debris on Changdao day after day. “This is an archipelago between the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. The islands act as barriers on the ocean, causing items from surrounding areas to gather here.” The debris itself is the waste of human life and production, which, due to our carelessness or indifference, invades nature, entering or accumulating in the ocean, drifting, eroding, being exposed to sunlight, wearing down, and oxidizing over time. “These objects are products of the interaction between human civilization and nature, and they truly reflect the fundamental state of our civilization.”

Every time he visits different islands or bays, Fu Junsheng collects floating debris from the beach to create ready-made installations. "I am actually representing everyone in co-creating with the sea. When the public sees these works, they will inevitably reflect on our civilization, feel the conflict and contradiction, reconsider current production and lifestyles, and thereby change their mindset to seek solutions."

Therefore, his works include: over 1,000 slippers collected from the seaside since 2021, forming a piece called "Sea of Beings," which metaphorically suggests that everyone is a member of the human community; and colored plastic fragments arranged in a circle, implying the cyclical trap of consumerism.

Various types of discarded slippers collected by Fu Junsheng. Photo provided by the interviewee.

"These objects authentically record the traces of human life," he explained. "Like an archaeologist studying the present, I classify this debris using the Five Elements theory (Life, Nature, Energy, Construction, Technology) to explore the possibility of coexistence between civilization and nature." In his creation process, he adheres to the principle of not altering or damaging the floating objects themselves. Through juxtaposition, stacking, and interweaving—methods akin to traditional mortise and tenon joinery—he assembles the pieces, ensuring the works remain reversible—"This is a crucial premise for sustainability and recyclability." Those seemingly unrelated floating objects are given new meaning in his creations, with each piece carrying reflections on life, survival, living, and production.

In many years of picking up litter, Fu Junsheng has also received many "gifts from the ocean." In September 2021, he found a message in a bottle from Liugong Island in Weihai, which read: "May you who find this be safe for life." On his birthday in 2022, a small pink-purple bear "jumped" into his arms from the beach. "Perhaps, this is a gift from the sea."

The Pain of the Ocean and the Healing Power of Art

"Marine debris is not the ocean's garbage; it is human-made waste that enters the ocean," says Fu Junsheng, who often walks along the beach picking up trash. He told reporters that the natural cobblestones on the beaches of Changdao have been picked clean by millions of tourists every year; the demand from tourists for seafood leads to the depletion and exhaustion of fishery resources; extensive aquaculture produces countless amounts of plastic waste; and numerous tourists collecting shellfish have driven nearshore marine life, such as shellfish, away—all of these are tragedies occurring on this ocean.

Photograph of the sea by Fu Junsheng, provided by the interviewee.

Marine debris has always been one of the topics most concerned about by the public.

The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation has reported that as much as 12 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year. According to People’s Daily, currently, 18% to 20% of the world’s annual plastic waste eventually enters the ocean. In addition, estimates from the United Nations suggest that if effective intervention measures are not taken, plastic waste entering the ocean each year could reach 37 million tons by 2040.

These wastes not only affect the marine landscape but also cause physical harm to marine life, such as marine animals being entangled in abandoned fishing nets or ingesting debris. In 2023, a pregnant dwarf sperm whale stranded and died on a beach in Sanya. A large amount of plastic products was found in its stomach. These indigestible plastics made it difficult for the whale to feed, ultimately leading to its death. However, like this dwarf sperm whale, up to 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to plastic products, and the number of seabirds exceeds one million.

The immense damage that humans have inadvertently caused to the oceans has made Fu Junsheng even more determined in his artistic creation. "By collecting, sorting, and studying debris washed up on beaches, I examine contemporary human civilization through these objects and reflect on the relationship between civilization and nature." This is how he defines his work. For eight years, he has used art as a bridge to embark on a unique exploration.

Trash on the beach, photo provided by the interviewee

Nowadays, his works are gaining attention through exhibitions and online dissemination. Influenced by him, many netizens are participating in ocean garbage cleanup with their children, and some even visit his island studio specifically. At the "Tide Scale" art exhibition in Yantai, the audience was struck by the works made from discarded shoe soles, plastic bottles, and industrial parts, including parents with children. One viewer commented: "This is an elevation of contemporary civilization's violent aesthetics on the coastline, either bright or absurd—a lament, in various forms, slow yet surging."

After the Yantai exhibition ends, Fu Junsheng's steps will not stop. This month, he has been invited to reside and create in Zhouzhuang, and next year he plans to go to Beijing. He has set a goal for himself: to focus on creation on the island for at least ten years.

"We are not here to dominate the Earth, but to care for all living beings with intelligence." This creator, who transforms ocean waste into art, hopes to highlight the conflict between civilization and nature through exhibitions, and "calls on people from different fields to contribute their creativity to ecological civilization." In his heart, this blue planet is humanity's eternal mother planet, and protecting the oceans is about safeguarding our shared soul sanctuary.