From Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves of Studio Swine, this is Gyrecraft, a term that references the swirling gyres in which micro-plastics can be found, and scrimshaw craft, the now verboten pastime of whale tooth and ivory engraving.
Gyrecraft is an exploration into maritime crafts which exists in every coastal or island culture around the world each with its own unique identity, utilising what the sea provides. Many of these crafts took place onboard boats during long voyages as a way of making vital repairs or passing the time at sea.
Studio Swine went on a journey of 1000 nautical miles collecting plastic on the way from Azores to the Canaries through the North Atlantic Gyre with the Solar Extruder; a machine they designed and built which melts and extrudes sea plastic using the Sun.
In their final product — the replica of a whale tooth — the studio turns pollution into a valuable material. You may also recall another Studio Swine project: An ocean plastic Sea Chair.
Learn more from these videos: Ocean Confetti and What is a Gyre?
In the archives, more projects from plastic and trash: One Plastic Beach, turning scraps into soccer balls for village children, making eyeglasses from trash & e-waste, Landfill Harmonic, and how to make Moser Lamps.
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