Emily Fritz & Virginia Guerra Saldivar | A&E Editor and Staff Writer
When visitors first enter Palm Court, they are met with a blanket of humidity and immersed by 12 blue jellyfish overhead made from three-times reused ribbon, alluding to the theme of this summer’s flower show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: ‘Under the Sea.’
“For such a fun theme … I had a whole list of plants in my head that I’ve been kind of building up and inventorying over the years,” said Phipps Associate Director of Exhibits Jordyn Melino. “Some of my favorites are Alocasia Stingray, which is in our Victorian room … and there’s a plant called String of Turtles, which is a Peperomia and it’s a very, very tiny plant.”
As visitors venture through different rooms, they are met with a variety of unique plant life – some named after underwater creatures, like the golden shrimp plant – fish-themed ceramics and statues made from upcycled foliage.
A pair of walruses, named after Fred and Joanne Rogers, have tusks crafted from carved-out palm leaf stems and flippers made from Staghorn fern and dried fronds.
Aside from saving money on recycled decor, the exhibition staff wanted to showcase the power of sustainability and the creativity involved in reclaimed materials, according to Melino.
“Even though we are [landlocked] here in Pittsburgh or in our region, our rivers connect us to the ocean. So what we put in the rivers … ultimately flows into the ocean,” she explained.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, “plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution and around eight to 10 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year.”
Carnegie Mellon University student Lifan Yu visited the flower show earlier this season.
“I actually noticed this little river model of the three rivers in one of the rooms,” Yu told The Duke. “It sort of hinted that … plastic waste in the ocean [is] harming all the fishes.”
As an international student, Yu explained that the U.S. is much more careless in its treatment of waste compared to Shanghai, where she completed her undergrad. In other areas of the world, bins are color-coded, allowing the public to recycle more efficiently.
“I’m just not used to putting all trash into one bin. It just doesn’t feel right,” Yu added.
For others, like artist Sayaka Ganz, trash is the gateway for creative reuse.
Ganz works with many different types of plastics to create her art, gravitating toward objects like broken toys, patio furniture and common household items such as coat hangers. The majority of the materials she works with are found in other people’s trash or on the side of the street.
Ganz contributed her 16-foot whale sculpture, ‘Nanami,’ to Phipps for the marine-themed event. Built from plastic objects, hardware, painted aluminum armature and cable ties, Ganz wanted to inspire visitors to reflect on the underwater ecosystem.
“[Plastic] is terrible for the environment,” Ganz said. “On the consumer level, we are asked to recycle. But what we really need is to produce less, you know, and it’s not really helping you not to vilify what’s already out there, because we’ve created what’s already out there.”
Ahead of the flower show’s debut, local students in grades 2 through 12 were invited to partake in creative upcycling through the Fairchild Sea Creature Challenge.
As an exercise in environmental thinking, the students had to create their own fictional creatures using materials that were already owned or re-used. Moreso, they were required to supply information about how their sea creature was related to real-life organisms and would adapt to its surroundings underwater.
Among the gallery creations was a squid and octopus, creatively called a “Squink.” Born from cardboard, newspaper, bubble wrap and leftover beads from Taylor Swift bracelets, the mythical sea creature was created by a group of 11th graders from Mars Area High School.
‘Under the Sea’ summer flower show ends on Sept. 22 as Phipps prepares for its fall flower show, ‘Rhythm and Blooms,’ beginning on Oct. 5. Student discounts are available with a valid ID and can be purchased online at www.https://www.phipps.conservatory.org.
“You really have to get people to care first about what they see in front of them,” Melino said. “Wow them with an amazing show to get them to care about what they see when they’re here at the garden. … And then, take home [that] message of, ‘how can I be a part of this moving forward?’”