Artist covers sculpture in plastics as sign for delegates at pollution summit

As nations began a second week of negotiations on Monday for a global accord to end plastic pollution, an artist heaped piles of plastic waste onto a large sculpture in front of the United Nations office.

Delegates to the treaty talks pass by the sculpture daily in a reminder of their responsibility to solve the plastic pollution crisis. The talks are scheduled to conclude on Thursday.

Benjamin Von Wong, a Canadian artist and activist, designed the nearly six-metre tall sculpture called the Thinker’s Burden and built it with a team.

It is his take on the famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin, The Thinker in Paris. There is a male figure in deep thought, like Rodin depicted.

But instead of sitting atop a rock, Mr Von Wong’s figure sits atop Mother Earth while cradling a baby and clutching plastic bottles. A strand of DNA intertwines them to highlight the health impacts of plastic pollution.

With the help of volunteers, Von Wong is adding plastic waste to the installation over the course of the negotiations to reflect the growing cost of inaction.

He climbed a ladder on Monday to reach the top of the sculpture and weave plastic bottles through the DNA. He put a plastic toy car in front.

“By the end of this week, we should have a sculpture almost completely drowned in plastics, however, the hope is, a strong and ambitious plastics treaty means that we can solve this problem once and for all,” he said.

About 3,700 people are taking part in the talks, representing 184 countries and more than 600 organisations. They are aiming to craft the first global, legally binding treaty on plastics pollution.