An Object of Destruction,
Holding Life
This piece explores how unseen emotions can help the world breathe again. At its center is a plastic bottle that was once a symbol of pollution, now reborn as an object that saves life. Inside the bottle is water, which falls onto the dry, dying soil to sprout new life, symbolizing the last hope for healing nature.
The four corners of the work each represent a different form of environmental destruction: nuclear, air, water, and soil pollution. Some of the paint includes eraser dust I personally collected, representing discarded ideas and traces of failure. In this piece, even those remnants are reborn as part of the work, showing that everything can hold meaning. It reflects the belief that forgotten materials and small acts of care can come together to bloom again as a small hope that saves life.
How It All Started
It all began with the question: Can something that was once waste truly ever mean anything?
While walking the streets near Seoul Forest, I stumbled upon some litter. Among the trash was a crinkled, stained plastic water bottle. Nothing special, not even aesthetically pleasing, but it stuck with me after it left my possession. It was a plastic water bottle that once held water, the essence of life. Now it was contributing to the problem. I took it with me.
This was when I knew my project could transcend a simple art installation and exist in reality. I cleaned the plastic bottle and filled it with water, what it was meant to hold before becoming waste. I wanted to create from the perspective that even as trash, it could still give life. This would become the core of my piece and the message I hoped others would take with them.
An Object of Destruction, Holding Life
Ideation Phase
During the brainstorming process, I played with many ideas based on waste and renewal through silent struggle. I pitched many plans about how even the smallest castaway could have meaning. But ultimately, the focal point became a used plastic bottle, holding real water at its center. One small action among millions, standing against environmental destruction. My project became something that would give life to materials that otherwise would be forgotten.
From Trash to Art
I chose this specific bottle from a trash pile near Seoul Forest. It wasn’t picked for how it looked, but for what it represented: something used, thrown away, and forgotten. By cleaning it and using it to hold real water in my piece, I wanted to show how even discarded objects can become vessels for life. In the artwork, this bottle is placed at the center, containing a single drop that gives rise to new growth. It transforms from a symbol of pollution into a symbol of renewal. That shift captures what this whole piece is about: small, quiet acts of care that still matter.
Upcycled Plastic Bottle
collected from trash, cleaned and reused as the central vessel
Real Water
placed inside to represent life, renewal, and hope
Eraser Dust
Collected over time from discarded pencil erasers. Mixed into the paint to represent forgotten ideas and the potential of reused failure.
Used Adhesive Seal
used to safely close and secure the bottle to the canvas