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Mercury 20 Gallery

May 6 - May 29, 2011

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475 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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The Gyre Caution Fish by Dave Meeker
Opening: May 6, 6-9pm in conjunction with Oakland Art Murmur "The Gyre" is a room-sized, kinetic sculpture created by artists Kathleen King, Dave Meeker and Laura van Duren. Composed of discarded plastic which has been re-fashioned into sea creatures and ocean forms, the piece focuses attention on the environmental crisis in our planet's oceans. The spinning, glittering installation reflects our collective trance regarding the fact that a large portion of the plastic bottles, packaging, utensils, electronics, toys, and gadgets we dispose of daily are lost in the environment where they ultimately wash out to sea. King, Meeker and van Duren have all worked with recycled and found materials--including plastics--in their solo work. Looking for a project they could collaborate on, they became fascinated with the large systems of ocean currents that, coupled with wind and the earth's rotation, create "gyres", massive, slow rotating whirlpools in which plastic trash is accumulating. The artists spent months this winter and spring collecting plastic trash from beaches, neighborhoods and streets and transforming it into "The Gyre", an installation that challenges viewers to think about our environment and examine our values in terms of consumption and waste. Gallery hours: Thursday-Saturday 12-6