Plastic Capitalism: Art and Waste in Neoliberal Order

Art historian Amanda Boetzkes examines the visualization of waste in contemporary art within the context of neoliberal capitalism. Her book, published by The MIT Press in 2019, analyzes works by artists including Agnès Varda, Francis Alÿs, Tara Donovan, Song Dong, Gabriel Orozco, and Mel Chin. Boetzkes begins with Jim Shaw's Heap (2009), a sculpture of fused McDonaldland plastic toys on metal and Styrofoam, which she argues symbolizes waste management in global capitalism. The study posits that the cultural imaginary of waste is essential to understanding the ecological condition, asserting that art is fundamental to global awareness rather than a byproduct. Boetzkes conducted research at Berlin's Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society.