Plastics, Steel Armature, Driftnets and Floats
This work is called "Plastics, Steel Armature, Driftnets and Floats". With the collection of waste as raw materials for creation. This process of collection is an indispensable part of her works. In the process of collection, she would communicate and connect with specific people and creatures around the world. This rubbish is a message that nature sends to people to make them aware of their mistakes. Her installation is also a stand-in for other people or objects or nature in the field collection. When collecting, it will also affect the local people's environmental awareness through practical actions and provide direct help for the local pollution phenomenon. Regarding the modelling of this work, the artist took half of the whale as the prototype and made the whale's body and tail out of collected plastic and other artificial garbage. These included plastic bottles, fishing nets, floats, plastic fragments and other domestic wastes. What flowed out of the whale's profile was not clear seawater, but various marine debris and fishing nets. It symbolized that the ocean had been filled with man-made garbage and warned people to reduce the use of plastic products and protect the ocean from trivial matters.
From the aspect of colour, the whale made up of garbage was dyed black, and the garbage flowing out of its body was colourful. The two colours formed a strong contrast. Each colour has different meanings and also gives people different visual feelings. ‘It’s the first thing that hits you emotionally, before you start looking at the form, or the typography, or the language, or the movement.’ (Opara and Cantwell, 2013: 82). Black symbolizes death in some countries, implying the harm to marine life. What should have been a colorful ocean has become gray and dead. Comparatively speaking, the garbage is coloured, but colour does not mean beauty, in this case, it is totally the opposite, because the garbage appears in the wrong place. Poulin (2011) points out that contrast is a basic visual principle, which can provide an obvious difference for eyes. Between the two objects, huge and small, black and white, purple and yellow bright and dark. That is to say, people's vision will be attracted and impressed by things with strong contrast. The stronger the contrast, the more profound the visual experience will be. In this work, the artist made a striking contrast between black whales and coloured garbage, which impressed the viewer. In addition, she also made many other works of art from recycled garbage, including installation art, photography and painting. She was an advocate of beach cleaning. She hoped to do meaningful things through art and advocated the public to avoid unnecessary use of plastic. Letting people understand the relationship between pollution and natural ecology and the relationship between pollution and human health.
So far, Longobardi has held 30 solo exhibitions in art galleries and museums all over the world and participated in more than 60 group exhibitions, including Poland, Finland, Italy, the United States, Japan, Japan and China which causing great influence.