A new vape sculpture ‘The Ballad of Lost Mary’ at The Box Plymouth by Community Group ‘Clean Our Patch CIC’ highlights the concerns and dangers of single use plastics whilst also acting as a beacon for community action and environmental awareness by using disposable vapes found during community litter picks.
When asked about the inspiration behind the vape sculpture, Ashton and El from ‘Clean Our Patch CIC’ emphasised their concern about how many of these disposable vapes they were finding during their community litter picks.
“This project has been a joy to take part in and it has raised my own awareness of the problem of single use vapes, collecting as many as we have is truly shocking.
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These vapes have lithium ion batteries that are lethal when wet and a fire hazard. They are also filled with chemicals which leech into the environment, causing unknown damage as not enough research has been done see the impact.”
Clean Our Patch CIC has been running since March 2018, with 43 litter picking groups that run city wide, hosting over 40 litter picks a month.
The group’s persistent efforts led to the collection of over 4,000 single-use vapes in 2023 with an additional 6,000 gathered from collection points in Chaddlewood, Peverell, and universities, a third of which were used in the sculpture. The sculpture starkly represents the magnitude of the issue. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” they remarked.
“It is worth noting that these are only the ones we have managed to collect. There are thousands more that have not been covered in the data we have collated.”
The artist’s statement, alongside the vape sculpture titled “The Ballad of Lost Mary,” underscores the environmental damage caused by single-use vapes and other disposable items.
“The single use vapes in the sculpture are lifting society upwards and are trying to rescue the most vulnerable amongst us. The seahorse is a representation of the thousands of endangered species on the planet. Many of whom are being suffocated by the single use plastics and other items that are so common.”
The creation of the sculpture began in 2022, with the collection of vapes continuing through 2024. After meeting artist Andrew Stevens-Lock in mid-2023, a brainstorming session brought the project to life. “Andrew’s input was invaluable,” they noted. Ensuring that all materials used were recycled and could be recycled again posed a significant challenge, but thorough research led to sustainable solutions.
“It was important that everything to use the sculpture was recycled and was able to be recycled once the piece was dismantled. So we sourced waste streams for all of the materials once they had been chosen.”
The sculpture is being shown at the National Marine Aquarium on the 20/21st July & 10th/11th August.
On the 24th August at the West End Carnival the community group will be inviting people to destroy the sculpture in a symbolic destruction to represent the cyclical nature of life and the remnants left by single-use culture.
The group’s vision for the future is a city where litter picking is no longer necessary, where waste is responsibly disposed of, and where Plymouth becomes the cleanest city in the country. They hope to achieve this by working with other eco-organizations and through community involvement.
“working with other eco organisations such as the national marine park, ocean conservation trust, precious plastics, art and energy, Plymouth scrap store, Pollenize, seadream, rebel botanists, the flax project and snapdragons we hope that this will become a reality.”
For those interested in joining their efforts, Clean Our Patch CIC hosts open litter picking events advertised on their Facebook page. More information can be obtained by messaging them on Facebook or emailing cleanourpatch@hotmail.com
