Ok’s Journey of Sustainability

Walking into the Centre d’Art at Citadines during the “Journey of Sustainability” exhibition is to enter a shifting space where the ugly dregs of our consumerist society take on new fanciful shapes. Enormous jewel-toned birds with plumage made from broken glass and metal bangles greet the visitor upon arrival and the tendrilous roots of an invisible tree, intricately crocheted from old cassette tape, trail down from the ceiling. In the next room, the light has been transformed by blue cellophane on the windows into an underwater blue. A swarm of enormous jellyfish, all made from plastic packaging waste and assorted beads, drift suspended from the ceiling. And just beyond, the air sparkles with the refractions of dozens of iridescent fish, their scaly bodies composed of discarded CDs. But in tragic contrast to this waste-turned-art, masses of plastic bottles are deliberately scattered along the floor beneath them. 

All this has been created by Ok Jeong Lee, an Aurovilian artist and founder of Ok Upcycling Studio. Through this exhibition - her second in Auroville [see Auroville Today no. 282 for coverage of the first] - she has encapsulated her work over the past ten years in Auroville. Ok’s medium is premium waste, which can be any clean discarded objects that she collects from the community’s waste disposal service, EcoService, or from individuals who directly contact her with materials. In addition to the whimsical flora and fauna, she also has on display practical items, such as cushions made from recycled PVC filled with waste plastic, and bags made from crocheted VHS tape and stitched slides. 

Ok grew up in South Korea, which was still a developing country at that time, and so her first experiments into art as a child were with waste materials. Her work has taken many forms as she has always seen the boundaries between art, design and craft to be very fluid. After settling in Auroville, she reconnected with the medium of waste materials when she became involved in the Litter Free Campaign in 2010, which included craft activities with waste materials and culminated with the Trashion Show where beautiful or eccentric clothes were fashioned out of waste. Only after this did Ok learn the term ‘upcycling’ and become aware of this larger community around the world. 

However her work remains instinctive, and she gains her ideas from the materials themselves, inspired by the colours, shapes, and textures. She sees the history of human invention being played out through the materials she collects, as people reject diskettes, audio tapes, video tapes, CDs, and pen drives as better technologies emerge. 

When visitors come to see Ok’s exhibition, she lets them experience the pieces on their own. Many are particularly drawn to the aquarium room, with its sad yet beautiful atmosphere. “There is a report that by 2050, there will be more trash than fish in the ocean. We will have a plastic ocean. This is the message that I want to express,” Ok says. 

Ok acknowledges that Aurovilians are more conscientious than the average in their consumption, but there is still a long way to go globally. Even Ok still looks for ways to reduce her waste. One of her creations, a simple cushion that can be stuffed with 3 to 5 kg of packaging plastic, has particularly deep meaning for her. 

As Ok looks toward the next ten years, she hopes to be able to go deeper and expand her reach. She wants to see the media spreading awareness about the rampant problem of waste and believes that art pieces can have the power to convey that message. As a result, she has an exhibition planned for Korea next year and plans for others in wider India and France. Ok also wants to see more engagement with upcycling, and looks to grow the team at Ok Upcycling Studio through offering more workshops and collaborating with other artists.