Dust to Dust, Sediments to Plastic
speculative photographic research
This project explores how the inflatable paddling pool, typically associated with leisure and carefree fun, can be repurposed within landscapes of global resource extraction. Through a series of speculative photographs, the pool is removed from its original context and placed in mining sites, areas of raw material production and industrial transformation.
In these constructed scenarios, the paddling pools act as temporary sediment traps. They collect fragments of contemporary civilisation, including mineral residues, petrochemical materials and industrial by-products, pointing towards the techno-fossil traces that will shape future geological strata. This soft, brightly coloured plastic vessel is placed in scarred and depleted terrains, creating a tension between the ephemeral and the geological, and between short-lived consumption and deep time.
The series operates as a visual research project concerned with resources, circulation and interim storage states. By placing an apparently innocuous consumer item in extractive landscapes, the work challenges the traditional distinction between resources and waste. The pool becomes a measure of human intervention, as well as an indicator of the socio-cultural and material imbalances embedded in contemporary production systems.
Situated between image simulation and speculative documentation, the project encourages reflection on the material traces left behind by present-day modes of construction, consumption and extraction. These traces persist not only on the Earth's surface, but within its geological fabric.