I am an environmental artist that uses Plexiglas paintings to not only call attention to but also to explore the pollution both in the Gulf and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Garbage Patch is a vortex of billions of plastic particles swirling off California's coast and forms layers twice the size of Texas. Both of these manmade maelstroms are symbols of humanity's insatiable need to industrialize, mechanize, and plasticize, which ultimately diminishes delicate marine ecosystems.I create the emphasis of pollution by using not only the polluting materials but also collecting synthetic debris from different waterways statewide. The materials I incorporate, such as paint, screws, and Plexiglas, are the same pollutants in which aquatic life labors to survive. I trace the origins of a clear painting surface to Marcel Duchamp who pioneered the possibilities of a clear plane with his monumental work, The Large Glass. Like Duchamp, I utilize the clear surfaces and allow the surroundings to play an important part in viewing the work. I did not choose the colors for my Plexiglas hybrids, rather, consumers, companies and their ad agencies chose them for me. The colors, like magenta and peacock, are lively and charismatic hues that appeal most to our insatiable product desires and consumerism. Like the products they reflect, the works are attractive and captivating; however, they also hint at the negative outcomes of mass production and lack of responsible disposal. The hybrids are both alluring and dangerous through the color choices and their outwardly innocent façade. The bits of bright plastic recovered from the ocean's plastic cesspools dangerously lure both sea creatures and aquatic birds to ingest them because they too are attracted to the bright colors, unaware of the potential fatality of consumption.The creation of each piece heralds my concern for the welfare of the oceanic life and the innocent but deadly allure that these colors have. My path to becoming an environmental artist has evolved from childhood paper collages of octopuses and fish to my current Plexiglas hybrids. I discovered the connections between environmental artists Vaughn Bell, Natalie Jeremijenko, and myself. Like Bell, I use Plexiglas in three dimensional forms to create installation pieces and similar to Bell, often suspend them from the ceiling. Parallel to Jeremijenko, I incorporate actual discarded garbage as an illustration of the byproducts of society's insatiable needs.There are also distinct connections between my process and that of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. My incorporation of Warhol's mass production silkscreen process creates multiple prints and removes the autonomy of the artist. Like mass products, my prints explore the rapidity of the process and its relations to rapidly produced products. The prints are indistinguishable similar to rows of plastic bottles in a factory. To further emphasize the mechanization in my work, I chose to repeatedly silkscreen a pattern often used by Lichtenstein--Ben Day dots. They are a traditional method used to create halftones, especially in mass produced comic books. The patterns of gradient dots are very uniform, mechanical, and ideal for my message.I can also see a distinct connection between Summerville's local folk artist Howard Finster and my work. Finster recycled bottle caps, tools, bicycle parts and other found objects to create his impressive Paradise Gardens. Like Finster, I use recycled oil drums for collection.Octopuses are fascinating creatures. They are capable of changing their color within a matter of seconds whether its for protection or to express emotion. Octopuses also possess the ability to change the texture of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. The octopus has become the poster child of my environmental mission. The screenprinted, severed tentacle is a representation of all forms of marine life severed from their natural environments by the inundation of manmade pollutants such as bottles, tires, and cans. The octopuses are the canaries in the coal mine.With all the research that is available on the degrees of oceanic pollution through the National Geographic and even from Jacques Cousteau's voyages, I am optimistic regarding the future of the oceans. By making simple changes, like consumer responsibility, the oceans and waterways can be restored to their pre-plastic condition. My pieces call attention to the ever-growing waste problem that we as a society are constantly contributing to. The hybrids are a warning of a dangerous attraction to gross misuse of commodities and of the extinction of marine ecosystems if the error of our industrialized voracity is not reigned in.
Garbage Patch Info

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Information on the Problem

Annotated Bibliography of Works Cited.pdf

The Chattanooga-Times Press Video Interview (starts _ 48 second mark)

The Georgia Conservancy

The Georgia Aquarium

Filter For Good

CONTACT

Contact The Artist:

atteka.abdou_hawks.shorter.edu

attekaabdou_gmail.com

Biography

Atteka Abdou was born in Rome, Georgia. She studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York before graduating in 2008 from Berry College, Mount Berry, Georgia with a Bachelors of Arts degree. In 2010, she received her Master's degree in painting at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Her first solo exhibition in 2008 was in Rome, Georgia. It was entitled Let Me Hear Your Body Talk. Following it, she was highlighted as an emerging artist in 2008 at the Foothills Art Gallery Emerging exhibition in Lafayette, Georgia. She was also the 2008 recipient of the Dr. Tommy Mew, III Fellowship. Abdou has participated in group exhibits including the 2009 traveling exhibition Everyone We Know displayed in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Boston, and Washington D.C. That same year she participated in the Rattling Gourd Exhibit, Summerville, Georgia. In 2009, she received merit and academic scholarships from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her paintings are currently featured in the 2009-2010 edition of New Art International painting journal. Abdou's paintings are in private and public collections including the Chattooga County Public Library and the Dennis and Hyden Law Firm.

Abdou is currently exploring the issues of plastic pollution and the results on marine ecosystems with her paintings. Her interest in the ocean and environment started with her first childhood trip to the Mediterranean Sea where it mesmerized her and cultivated a fascination. She creates three dimensional installations from Plexiglas, screws, and screenprints. Her site specific installation in 2010 entitled Paradise Lost at the Georgia Aquarium further emphasizes her exploration of the environment. Abdou's studio is located in Summerville, Georgia where she presently resides.

Resume

EDUCATION2009-2010 Master's Degree, Savannah College of Art and Design2006-2008 Bachelor's Degree, Painting, Berry College, Cum Laude, Rome, GA2005-2006 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NYTEACHING EXPERIENCE2011 Adjunct Faculty, Shorter University, CAPP ProgramSOLO EXHIBITIONS2008 Let Me Hear Your Body Talk. Moon Gallery, Rome, GAJURIED EXHIBITIONS2009 Rattling Gourd Art Exhibit. Civic Center, Summerville, GA2008 Foothills Gallery: Emerging Artists. Lafayette, GASELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS2010 The Things We Dream About. Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY2009 Everyone We Know Traveling Exhibit: Museum of Design, Atlanta, GA Museum of Contemporary Art, Washington D.C. 3rd Ward Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Laconia Fine Art Gallery, Boston, MA Art Source Gallery, Chicago, IL2008 Berry College Student Honors Show. Mount Berry, GASITE SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS2010 Paradise Lost Paintings. The Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GACOLLECTIONS2009 Dennis and Hyden Law Firm, Summerville, GA2009 Chattooga County Public Library, Summerville, GA2008 Dr. and Mrs. Sam Garner, Summerville, GA2005 Georgia Highlands College, Rome, GAAWARDS2010 First Place News Photo, The Summerville News2009 Savannah College of Art and Design Merit Scholarship2009 Savannah College of Art and Design Academic Scholarship2009 First Place News Photo, The Summerville News2008 Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Recipient2008 Dr. Tommy Mew, III Fellowship Recipient2008 McCorkle Creative Society Award2006 First Place News Photo, The Summerville News2005 First Place Feature Photo, The Summerville News2005 Impact Editorial Cartoonist of the YearBIBLIOGRAPHY2010 Interview Chattanooga Times Free Press (Associated Press)2010 "From Chattooga to the Gulf." The Summerville News 2010 New Art International art journal 2009-2010 edition2009 "Rattling Gourd Art Goes on Display." The Summerville News2008 "Residents Art Displayed at Moon Gallery." Rome Newswire
Weekly Art Column Learning Experiences from a First Year InstructorOn August 25th, I began teaching at Shorter University. I have discovered that my art appreciation students, while they are not art majors, are very intelligent and insightful into art. It is enlightening to see fresh eyes, untainted by previous art research, look at a work for the first time. That is something magical and wonderful about introducing artists to them. They have marvelous intellect in grasping the meaning hidden in a work and making clever deductions.I was excited to begin teaching but apprehensive at the same time. What would my students be like? Would they understand what I was lecturing on? How could I make art relevant to them? I am sure that they were anxious about meeting me as well.This Sunday, I am taking them on a trip to the High Museum in Atlanta. Many have been to it before and others have not. It will be a great experience for the entire group. I can’'t wait to share with them the works of Howard Finster, the most famous artist from my hometown. He has a permanent exhibit at the High.If there is one thing that I want these students to take away with them from this class is that art impacts our lives everyday. From the clothes we wear to the house we live in to the car we drive, artistic forethought went into its creation. It isn’'t just a casual occurrence at a museum or gallery but a major contributor to our everyday lives. I will always remember each student in this class because it was my first. Seventy years from now, I will still remember them all.

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