In the 1970s, Dušan Tršar was one of the first artists in the then Yugoslavia to use fluorescent Plexiglas as a material for his illuminated sculptures. His “light objects” made use of the transparency of the new plastic material and were a way for Tršar to explore novel forms and possibilities in sculpture. Today, this material also allows us to read Tršar’s work in the context of the material and the environmental consequences of its origin.
Plexiglas (polymethyl methacrylate) is one of the (too) many synthetic materials that became increasingly used in both everyday life and art in the past century, their application rising along with the processes of industrial development and globalization. Decades later, we can observe the long-term effects of this general introduction of plastics into our ecosystems. Materials of this type are very slow to degrade, forming microplastic particles in the process, which currently represent one of the greatest dangers to both ecosystems and human bodies alike. Microplastics accumulate in bodies of water and appear in the bodies of fish, birds, and even babies. While the production process itself is already environmentally harmful, the true extent of the damage is revealed in the long term, as it spans not only a few years, but across generations. Art can thus also participate in long-term and often invisible environmental processes.
