Series 5: Pawns Game

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Interactive Installation

“Pawns Game”: A large-scale single use plastic chess set where audience members can play on either the team, Fossil Fuels or the Renewables, and reflect on the deeper message about single use plastic.

The chess set consists of 32 single use plastic pieces plus the 53” x 53” single use plastic chess board. Each chess piece was made with a single use plastic bottle. Each bottle is jammed with single use plastic. The exterior of each bottle has 3 layers of paper mache to create a surface upon which to paint. Each bottle was hand painted to reflect the chess piece for each team. The chess board was made with single use plastic bags with each square hand sewn together including the plastic backing so that it can be played outdoors.

In a linear economy, the artifact moves rapidly from creation to discard. It does not decompose; it simply accumulates, becoming a vessel that chokes on its own material reality. Society attempts to mask the volume of its consumption. By wrapping the artifact in newsprint and paper, the sheer scale of the plastic crisis is hidden in plain sight, buried under the daily news cycle and temporary distractions. The management of the artifact becomes a global strategy game. The board represents the ongoing battle between environmental stewardship and industrial profit. The players: wealthier nations versus developing countries. The move: Offloading environmental responsibility by exporting plastic waste across the globe. The checkmate: polluting global waters and landscapes while maintaining the illusion of a clean domestic environment. A global system that preserves plastic not just in landfills but in history – a toxic legacy, still being written. We are all players on this board. Pawns game invites viewers to question how our linear economy undermines the cyclical natural world – and how we, as individuals and a collective, participate in it.

“Pawns Game” seeks to create a thought-provoking experience that encourages visitors to critically assess their relationship with single-use plastics. By fostering a community dialogue, we can work together towards a more sustainable future.

The game has been presented at EarthDay in Morningside Park (2024), El Museo del Barrio (2025), and Museum City of New York (2026).

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