Teratoplastica

Teratoplastica references both positive and negative aspects of our current plastic discards crisis: Teras (Greek/Latin) are supernatural omens that are at the same time wondrous marvels and monstrous malformations or deviations. We have created a fabulous monster and now it is shaping us and our world in unpredictable, queer ways.

Garbage Globes

Beached Marine Debris Garbage Globes, 2019/20; Santa Cruz beach garbage, glitter; may also contain sand, shells, seaweed;  liquid is water, glycerin, and rubbing alcohol (note: some contents may degrade over time)

News stories and accompanying images show albatross, whales, turtles, deer with stomachs full of identifiable plastic discards. Researchers speak of waterways and tiny aquatic creatures full of synthetic microfibers. Sailors and scientists discover plastiglomerates and plasticrusts. As we, and our world, become increasingly infiltrated with plastics—large and small fragments, microfibers, and leachates—so do our anxieties ramp up about how our bodies, and the bodies of all other entities on earth, might metabolize, coexist, or become choked and poisoned.

Complex Teratomas

Feral human discards, shells/barnacles/claws, latex, glue, thread, resin teeth, human hair

The Greek word terato (teras, terat) means monster, marvel, sign, wonder; -oma means swelling. Complex teratomas are composed of germ cells or embryonic cells which can become anything, and have differentiated into skin, muscle, bone, hair, or teeth. They can also become brain matter, thyroid tissue, or eyes, though this is uncommon. Teratomas are most often found around the gonads or tailbones of humans or other animals. They can go undetected for quite a while. I had a complex teratoma the size of a softball removed from my left ovary when I was 22. Sadly, I was not allowed to keep it as a specimen.

Just as germ cells differentiate, so can petrochemicals become just about anything. About 10% of our fossil fuels become plastics or provide energy to plastics manufacturing. Fracked hydrocarbons are sent to “Crackers” where they are broken under intense heat and pressure and then streamed into feedstocks for hundreds of synthetic products—chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, munitions…  If we have been collectively anxious about plastics in our bodies for years (think eco-consumerism and BPA-free baby bottles), we have definitely not been anxious enough about invisible greenhouse gasses—because we can’t see, we can’t grasp. Petro-plastics all around and in us are one way that we can begin to see CO2.