VCUarts Qatar students participate in the two-day virtual session titled “A Second Life for Plastic” led by Thomas Egoumenides.
Doha: Thomas Egoumenides, a French architect and designer based in Tunisia, led a smart sustainability workshop with Qatar Foundation’s Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) students during Tasmeem Doha 2022, the university’s international biennale conference under the theme of smart sustainability.
He ran a two-day virtual session titled A Second Life for Plastic. “Giving material more than one life is important because it changes the perception of the value of the materials, which is beyond pricing and its immediate uses. Why throw away material that stays for 1,000 years. It’s going to be sustainable at the end of its purpose, and will stay longer than wood, steel and other materials we use as designers,” said Egoumenides.
“I’m not an activist in ecology; I’m just trying to describe the world as I experience it with my own language – which is through design. So, I’m speaking with my work and sharing my message. I found a lot of interest in using wasted material which is almost like treasure for me,” he said.
During the workshop, Egoumenides explained the difference between recycling and upcycling. “Recycling means reusing the same materials to create the same thing. Upcycling brings together different waste materials to add poetry and create artistic pieces and reinventing objects such as shoes, chairs, furniture, etc.”
At the workshop, participants were asked to mold plastic pieces and challenging materials that were disposed or found in the room.
Karmina Asaad, a junior in the Interior Design programme at VCUarts Qatar, and a student assistant during the workshop, said: “The idea of upcycle fascinates me. I learnt about ways to give narrative and individual stories to pieces of material that would otherwise go to waste.”
Egoumenides shared examples of art pieces and styles from a community of artists and designers who focus on reusing plastic in their art pieces. “There are artists and designers who, for example, use plastic bags. By adding heat to shrink plastic bag, adding multiple layers of plastic, and by melting the plastic glues them together to create a piece of art. At this workshop, we will be making small sculptures by using this technique.”
The architect and designer hopes that through the workshop, he was able to change points of view in wasting materials.
“I tell students working with waste materials like plastic [that] you don’t need to look for it — it’s already around us, it’s kind of fun and it will open different doors in your creative endeavours. When I was in school, I don’t remember anyone telling me about this type of material and that I can use it. Just saying that can open doors.”
