Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 12 minutes ago
Can arts and culture survive without plastic? Do bioplastics pose a threat to the preservation of artworks? Should we be looking towards new materials for future conservation?
This event explored our complex relationship with plastic decomposition and the major role it plays in conserving works of art. It also looked at recent developments in plastic manufacturing taking into consideration environmental concerns and the production of biodegradable plastics with a potentially negative effect on the long term stability of plastic works within museum collections.
Panelists: Brenda Keneghan, Macolm Collum and Gavin Murphy and moderated by Ian Brunswick.
Can arts and culture survive without plastic? Do bioplastics pose a threat to the preservation of artworks? Should we be looking towards new materials for future conservation?
This event explored our complex relationship with plastic decomposition and the major role it plays in conserving works of art. It also looked at recent developments in plastic manufacturing taking into consideration environmental concerns and the production of biodegradable plastics with a potentially negative effect on the long term stability of plastic works within museum collections.
Panelists: Brenda Keneghan, Macolm Collum and Gavin Murphy and moderated by Ian Brunswick.







![No plastic beyond this point
NO PLASTIC BEYOND THIS POINT
ELIZABETH CROTTY, CONOR FALLON | USA, Ireland
2019
WOULD AN ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKPOINT PROTECT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES?
No Plastic Beyond this Point is a proposal for a ‘plastics checkpoint’, where an Environmental Value Security Agency would detect plastics on or in your person, to prevent them from entering a plastic-free zone. These hypothetical protective structures represent the extreme solutions future governments might be required to pursue if current governments don’t work harder to protect the environment.
It also touches on the ever-increasing privatisation of public space, and the rising ubiquity of public surveillance being seen around the world today. As part of the experience, you’re invited to examine the effect plastic has on your health by taking part in a No Plastic Beyond this Point survey and scan.
ABOUT
Elisabeth Crotty is an Information Science, Systems, and Technology student at Cornell University. She studied at Trinity College during 2019 where she took the Idea Translation Lab module [LINK - https://www.tcd.ie/trinity-electives/electives/ida/ ] at Science Gallery Dublin. She is interested in the ways that humans interact with technology and the world around them.
Conor Fallon is currently a Senior Sophister Mathematics student in Trinity College. He spent the first half of 2019 taking part in the Idea Translation Lab at Science Gallery Dublin, which focused on plastic. He has an interest in both the individual and collective response (or lack thereof) to the problems of our time. No plastic beyond this point](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rvhzyAxkb44/mqdefault.jpg)


