P.E.T. area — Matthew Paulson

P.E.T. Area

Micro-plastics beads, gelatin, mallet handle, prints on newspaper, masking tape, cell phone case, printed lifeguard flag with sewn pockets, claim ticket, twisted wickets, sieve, clam shells, “Ants” by Edward o. Wilson hardcover, S.O.F.T. solar quilt ( heat sealed nutrition facts, (verso) 2021

While developing the croquet project I discovered these tiny colorful micro-plastic beads while looking for suitable materials to build tools for the Gateway Playset. I collected the material for this mallet head over the course of 4 months from this site. Cathartically sifting sand for many days and countless hours under the sun, meditating on how these little infertile seeds disperse themselves and what the were intended for. I tried various methods to collect them efficiently, including straining the sand with various meshes and screens, adding water to float and separate the sand and broken shell from the beads, and I even attempted winnowing. Sadly, I found the most efficient method was just picking each one from the beach by hand. As I dug deeper their shapes changed from spheres to flattened disks melted by the summer suns. Breaking down into faded versions of themselves, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the grains of sand. After remediating the sand I returned it to the site and began again.