SPACE October 2024 (No. 683)
Exhibition view of ‘Plastic: Remaking Our World’ ©Hyundai Motor Company
On Aug. 28, Hyundai Motorstudio and Vitra Design Museum unveiled the exhibition ‘Plastic: Remaking Our World’. Rather than simply demonising plastic, the primary culprit of environmental pollution, the exhibition reveals the dual nature of plastic by shedding light on its development from its emergence as a novel material to the present day. ‘Synthetica’ demonstrates how the invention of early synthetic plastics was an innovation that offered hope of ending the exploitation of colonisers who were mobilised to harvest natural plastics and of animals that were ruthlessly hunted for their horns and ivory. The subsequent ‘Petromodernity’ and ‘Plasticene’ pertain to the 20th century, which witnessed the development of thermoplastic materials that could be reshaped by the application of heat and the mass production of disposable plastic products. Disposable plastics made it possible to implement more hygienic medical practices and relieved housewives of the burden of excessive household chores. Nevertheless, the environmental pollution resulting from the vast amount of plastic waste started to emerge as a significant social issue. ‘Re-’ is a collection of innovative alternatives developed to improve environmental quality, including new biodegradable materials such as bioplastics. ‘Hyuhdai Motor’s new eco-friendly materials’ and ‘Precious Plastic & P2H workshop’ showcases Hyundai Motor Company’s efforts to address and solve the issue of plastic recycling. Specific and realistic examples of how plastics can be recycled in actual industry include the IONIQ line-up, which employs environmental-friendly materials in all specifications, and the P2H (plastic-to-hydrogen) process, which extracts hydrogen from waste plastics. The exhibition is open to the public free of charge at the Hyundai Motorstudio Busan until May 25 next year.
