Plants and flowers made entirely from non-recyclable trash illuminated in a dark forest in Berlin

Following on from her dark and dystopian Swan Song installation, a site-specific artwork made entirely of non-recyclable trash, Clare Celeste Börsch is back with Swan Song (II).

Set in Berlin, the plants and flowers, illuminated by LED lights, are built from discarded packaging, straws, and other single-use plastics. "Placed outdoors, the natural ecosystem is overtaken by this new and non-biodegradable growth," explains Clare. "The long stalks glow and move with the wind, illuminating the branches and water surrounding them. This artwork is meant to be beautiful and disconcerting, an invitation to contemplate the impact our daily routines have on our planet. Are these the future forests?"

Following a life living in different cultures and environments – Brazil, the US, Italy, Honduras, Argentina and now Germany – Börsch transforms her experiences into "hallucinogenic ecosystems of their own", rich with detail and texture.

Her lush assemblages of fauna and flora exude a visceral and intimate fragility. They speak to the mutable nature of memories as reconstructions that border on mythologies. Börsch's most recent work uses reclaimed rubbish as collage material, creating her signature ecologies using non-biodegradable materials. Discover more: clareceleste.com.

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