Meet a Wavemaker: Nicholas Pisani
February 16, 2015Here at FTBS, our mission is to inspire the next generation of ocean caretakers. To do that, we are going to feature inspirational young artists, activists, writers, filmmakers, poets, conservationists, and anyone working to clean and protect our oceans.
We are so excited to introduce you to our first Featured Caretaker – Nick Pisani, a senior from New Egypt, NJ! We were struck by his sculpture and his artist’s statement, in which he told the story of collecting 438 used plastic bags from teachers and students to create a giant floating sea turtle and spark a discussion on human impacts on the ocean.
Artist Statement
Every year, plastic pollution continues to increase in the Pacific Ocean as a result of improper disposal of industrial materials. These materials, such as plastic grocery bags, garbage bags, and packaging plastic have become a severe concern for environmentalists who are trying to spread awareness of the effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems. Humans have the luxury of going to the grocery store and selecting safe foods for consumption. Unlike us, ocean organisms such as sea turtles are not able to make these decisions. As a result, they are forced to eat anything that floats their way. In this case, plastic bags look strikingly similar to jellyfish, a sea turtle’s favorite food. For this reason, I decided to create a sea turtle made entirely out of plastic bags to spread awareness of the environmental situation.
For this project, I used a total of 438 plastic bags, each which would have had the capability to kill one turtle if disposed improperly. In order to make this artwork, plastic bags were collected from the entire high school. By the first week of working on the project, the whole school was talking about the bags and the Pacific Coast Garbage Patch, and one hundred bags were collected. By the second week, I had two hundred more bags and students and teachers were visiting me to see how the project was going. When I finally finished the project, most of the students in my school knew about the dangers of littering plastic shopping bags.
Give us a picture of who you are – Where are you from, and what do you love?
I love surfing, spending time with friends and family, running, and traveling to new places. I grew up in Freehold, New Jersey, but moved to New Egypt in second grade. New Egypt High School is very small, but the amount of after school activities, including clubs and sports, are as diverse as any other public school.
What is your connection to the ocean?
As I have mentioned, surfing is one of my favorite hobbies, and I enjoy going to the beach during the summer with my family and friends. Ever since I was little, I have always been fascinated with the ocean, climbing the jetties and searching for crabs, going bluefish deep-sea fishing with my dad, and participating in school trips for ocean research.
Do you have a favorite ocean species?
Despite of my concern for sea turtles, my favorite sea creature, the ocean sunfish, which is native to tropical and temperate waters, is also greatly threatened by plastic pollution and the improper disposal of waste.
You collected plastic bags from your classmates and made a floating sea turtle sculpture. Tell us the story of how you were inspired to do that.
The ocean is one of Earth’s most important natural resources, harboring dynamic ecosystems that can be easily harmed by pollution. I wanted to at least create a project that would spread concern for threatened species, including their fragile habitats which continue to disappear.
The design for the sea turtle was smaller than the final product, and I spent the first few weeks working to collect hundreds of plastic bags that would have been thrown away. The construction of a stable frame made out of plastic bags to be filled by more plastic bags was the most difficult aspect of this project. At one point, a student attempted to give me an unused package of grocery bags, and I had to turn her away because the message was using the old plastic bags that would populate our landfills.
What were some successes and challenges you faced in putting your project together?
The Plastic Bag Sea Turtle required a large investment of time by my friends, family, and community. My goal was for everyone to not only spread direct information about the project I was creating, but to indirectly share concern by asking parents, sibling, and neighbors for plastic bags. The impact was essentially greater than anything I could have ever done by myself.
What advice would you give to other young people who want to protect and clean up the ocean?
The more people that are educated about pollution and its dangerous impacts, the easier it will be to create and share new innovative ideas to solve world problems, not just concerning the Pacific Coast Garbage Patch.
Just for fun…zombies, robots, or pirates?
Robots are actually beneficial to society, from exploring Mars, to helping military units assess dangerous situations.