plastiglomerates are hybrid entities comprised of plastic detritus that has been
melted together by bonfire with sand, rock, and organic materials commonly found
along the beach. Plastiglomerates index a convoluted web of relations and systems,
encompassing the rise and proliferation of plastic polymer manufacturing, the
expansion of global capitalism and the ongoing exploitation of natural resources,
and the geophysical phenomena through which matter, waste, and value flows.
Jazvac, in collaboration with geologist Patricia Corcoran, suggests plastiglomerates
as potential markers of the Anthropocene. In presenting the plastiglomerates as
readymades, Jazvac invites a re-reading of the art historical discourse of the
readymade.
This paper reflects on the affective and material dimensions of the
plastiglomerate as readymade, shifting away from a perspective that foregrounds
artistic intentionality and towards a critical reflection on the readymade’s affective
and material character. Jaimey Hamilton Faris’ discussion of the readymade in
global capital reflected on the manner in which the artistic frame initiated a
transmutation of the commodity to materiality. As objects that are neither raw
matter nor consumer product, however, plastiglomerates beget a liminal space
between commodity and material and, in so doing, articulate the complex ecological
dimensions at play in the commodity situation. Framed by Jason W. Moore’s
formulation of the Capitalocene, which posits an alternative designation for the
current geological epoch, this paper queries how plastiglomerates change our
understanding of the commodity situation with regard to the current environmental
crisis.
