Artist Benjamin Von Wong creates a massive sculpture from plastic waste outside the United Nations in Geneva. The nearly six-metre piece, called the “Thinker’s Burden,” depicts a male figure atop Mother Earth, cradling a baby and clutching plastic bottles. A strand of DNA winds through the sculpture to highlight plastic’s health impacts. Volunteers help Von Wong add waste daily, showing the growing cost of inaction as treaty negotiations continue.
Growing Installation Shows Urgency of Action
Von Wong climbed the sculpture Monday to weave plastic bottles through the DNA and added a plastic toy car. By week’s end, he plans to almost completely cover the sculpture in plastic. He hopes a strong plastics treaty will solve the crisis permanently. The Minderoo Foundation funded the project, while local nonprofits collected the plastic trash.
Art Influences Policy Through Emotion
Maria Ivanova, co-director of the Plastics Centre at Northeastern University, said the sculpture evokes feelings that facts cannot. Delegates and visitors paused to admire and photograph the installation. Michael Bonser, leading Canada’s delegation, called the sculpture “extraordinarily profound” and said it reminds negotiators daily of their responsibilities.
UN Negotiators Work Toward Global Plastics Treaty
About 3,700 participants from 184 countries and over 600 organizations attend the Geneva talks. Delegates aim to draft the first legally binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution. Negotiators arrived with hundreds of unresolved issues, and the number of disagreements increased last week. Many officials agree the talks need to accelerate to reach a timely and effective agreement.
