Oh I do like to be…by Diane Watson
Wednesday 8 September until Wednesday 6 November 2021
Artist Diane Watson, uses hundreds of plastic items, found washed up on north east beaches, to create artworks designed to highlight the scale of pollution in our oceans.
This free exhibition showcases intricate pieces created using a wide range of discarded objects such as plastic bottle lids, fishing line, tampon applicators, lighters and children’s toys.
Former fashion and textiles tutor Diane collected her art materials from the region’s coastline, including several County Durham beaches. Her environmentally-themed works aim to inspire a shift in attitudes towards single-use plastics and viewers are challenged to inspect waste objects in an unfamiliar context, considering not just the manufacturing cost of plastic products but the cost to the environment.
The colourful kaleidoscopic patterns in Diane’s art are reminiscent of the 1970s wallpapers of her childhood and were inspired by the sample books brought home by her painter and decorator father.
