Using Art to Tackle Plastic Pollution in Lake Champlain

Plastic pollution is a ubiquitous part of life in the 21st century. Plastics, while designed to make people’s lives easier and more affordable, have now permeated the environment worldwide as well as the human body. 

To convey plastic pollution in Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, and researchers from SUNY Plattsburgh and the University of Vermont have collaborated with artist Marguerite Perret, a professor of Art at Washburn University, Kansas. The research team is currently investigating the distribution and abundance of microplastics in Lake Champlain, small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long. Perret met with the research team and participated in a beach cleanup with Lake Champlain Sea Grant to understand the extent of the issue and initiate her creative process.

“Plastic pollution is affecting our environment in many ways, and this issue warrants public attention,” said Dr. Tim Mihuc, one of the researchers at SUNY Plattsburgh involved in the project. “Showing scientific data and figures will resonate with some people, but not everyone. Bringing an artistic perspective to our project can help bridge this gap.”

Perret explored humans’ connection with nature and the health of Lake Champlain in an exhibit at Plattsburgh State Arts Museum from August to December of 2024. The exhibit is the result of Perret’s residency with the Museum in 2023 where, along with fellow artist Robin Lasser, she connected with researchers, educators, and community leaders in the basin and joined a beach cleanup organized by Lake Champlain Sea Grant.

Among the sculptural pieces created by Perret is a transparent mannequin crammed with plastic trash collected during local beach and river cleanups: foam pieces, shoes, cigarette lighters, vaping devices, and plastic bottles, to name a few. Perret calls it the “Lady of the Lake,” in reference to an old time mythological aquatic spirit whose fate is related to that of the water—mirroring our own dependence on Lake Champlain. This art piece is an invitation to think about how plastics are getting into our bodies and how they have become a symbol of consumerism and environmental degradation.

“If you confront people too harshly or with something too difficult or too big to deal with, they push back. But if you draw them in, they start to think about what they are looking at and what it means. I want to give people the opportunity to contemplate, to think!” said Perret.

This contemplation is a first step towards behavior change. Picking up our belongings at the beach, disposing properly of trash, refusing single-use plastic items are examples of small changes that will help reduce plastic pollution.

Learn more about other ways you can help reduce plastic waste.

Learn more about current and past exhibits at Plattsburgh State Art Museum.