Tides of change
The uncertain future of the London artists
transforming Thames litter
Flowing through the heart of London alongside some of its most famous landmarks, the river Thames is an enduring symbol of the capital’s history.
But in the shadows of architectural marvel lies a murky truth - a deluge of plastic waste silently accumulating on the Thames’ riverbed and its foreshores.
Artists in London are collecting materials such as plastic, glass and ceramics from the river for use in their work, with a dual mission to turn the tide against littering and raise awareness of environmental damage to the Thames.
However, they face restrictions on the sale of their artwork that uses objects collected from the river, as well as the ongoing strain of the cost of living crisis.
Nicola White
Nicola White is an artist and Thames mudlark — someone who scavenges along the river mud looking for valuable or interesting objects.
She runs a YouTube channel documenting her findings and sharing her 'tideline art' made of recycled plastic, glass and metal to 162,000 subscribers.
But Nicola says the mudlark community are being confronted with a 'blanket ban' imposed by the Port of London Authority (PLA) on the sale of art containing items collected from the Thames and its foreshores.
Mudlarking permits, issued by the PLA, require that valuable or historical artefacts be declared to the Museum of London. Yet Nicola claims the ban extends to valueless items such as glass from beer bottles that are essential to her art, preventing her from selling her work.
Nicola and seven fellow artists formed the Mudlark Inspired Creatives Collective (MICC) to protest the ban and wrote to the PLA at the beginning of November.
The PLA says it has now responded to the MICC, "offering a meeting in the New Year with their representatives and other permit holders to discuss a future approach to permits for artists."
The MICC has agreed to the meeting but did not wish to comment further at this time.
Click on the video below to see Nicola talk about the impact of the PLA's regulations for the mudlarking community on her art.
Nicola grew up in Cornwall and says her love of beachcombing originated in childhood.
When she moved to London in 1999, it wasn’t long before she found herself down on the foreshore at Greenwich.
"There's a huge amount of plastic washed up," Nicola said.
"We tend to find an awful lot of plastic bottles, dummies, lighters - and vapes are now also added into that - crisp packets, all manner of things, and lots of plastic toys."
Nicola often photographs her riverside creations and posts them on social media 'to bring awareness to people of the plastic pollution problem'.
“Often people will say, well, that’s really beautiful, but also so terribly sad,” she said.
“They really can’t believe that it’s all been collected along the Thames, and they realise the extent of the problem.
"But unfortunately, there are masses of litter which get thrown into the river, and we see a washing up on the banks of the Thames each time we're down there.
“What I like for people to do is look at it more than just the superficial piece of art, but look at it and imagine where these pieces have come from and imagine the stories behind each piece.”
Public trust Port of London Authority (PLA) say they remove 200 tonnes of waste material from the tidal Thames each year, the equivalent of 250 family cars.
It has previously sponsored art festival Totally Thames which showcased work made from Thames plastic, but has now confirmed that artists cannot sell work made from items collected on the foreshore.
A spokesperson for the PLA said: "Selling objects found on the foreshore is not permitted. This was the case when current permits were issued.
"While this condition is more specifically designed to prevent people selling on items of cultural or historical significance or otherwise exploiting the foreshore for commercial gain, it does also apply to items used to create artwork."
The PLA is responsible for the condition of 95 miles of the Thames, from Teddington Lock to the North Sea.
Its Thames Vision 2050 is focused on improving the river, including keeping it free from plastic, litter and sewage.
Click the video on the right to hear Emily McLean, technical advisor in the environmental and sustainability team at PLA, talk about the company's work.
Maria Arceo
Galician artist Maria Arceo moved to London in 1984 and has used recycled materials in her artwork for more than 20 years, with a particular focus on installations displaying Thames plastic separated by colour.
Among her major works is FUTURE DUST (2017), an installation comprised of metal cages filled with plastic waste and arranged as a footprint.
It is the result of 40 tidal Thames clean-ups carried out by Maria and was produced during her tenure as artist-in-residence at King's College London.
The work, which measures 12x4 metres, used only one-third of the plastic she collected.
“The shape is representative of the footprints that society leaves as a reminder of its material culture, and how the plastic in the river will become part of the sediments of the future," she said.
However. Maria has not exhibited her art since 2021.
“Two months before the pandemic, I lost my studio and I had to move around a lot," she said.
"Of course, things are getting so expensive and my studio, an archive full of waste from the river, is getting smaller and smaller.”
© Maria Arceo 2022
© Maria Arceo 2022
© Maria Arceo 2022
© Maria Arceo 2022
© Maria Arceo 2022
© Maria Arceo 2022
Maria was inspired to make art from plastic when she saw the extent of the litter build-up along the foreshore.
“I realised that there was such a quantity and variety of items and that it was a real legacy of the impact of London on the river,” she said.
According to Maria, sorting the plastic by colour serves to illustrate the idea of time strata and showcase the quantities of plastic that one person can collect with limited equipment.
Maria's plastic installations are inspired by her longstanding interest in microplastics, which began when she found various pieces of plastic had broken off from the material in her studio.
She was compelled to filter the fragments through her sieve, and to her amazement saw blue, red and green plastic dust collecting on the other side.
This prompted her to research water-based microplastics, and she presented her findings at German artist Gustav Metzger’s ‘Facing Extinction’ conference at University for the Creative Arts Farnham in 2014.
Later that year, she was invited to join a group of 14 women as an artist-in-residence on a sailing expedition across the Atlantic, collecting samples from the surface of the water and investigating the presence of microplastics.
"20 days of being surrounded by water and actually looking at plastics on the microscope completely shook me.
"I decided when I came back that I wanted to do a project that would highlight the problem, but at the same time allow people to learn hands-on like I did, and try to come up with their own questions and their own answers."
Maria claims she has noticed the problem of a littered Thames for several years.
“It’s something we’ve become so accustomed to that we’ve become blinded. It has always affected me so I wanted to give visibility to the issue,” she said.
“I think it’s important that people are not just bombarded by facts and figures but that they get a physical understanding of the problem. That's the main aim of my work.”
While the future for these artists appears uncertain, it is clear that the issue of plastic pollution in the Thames is a growing problem.
A study from researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, found that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down some parts of the tidal Thames, "comparable to some of the highest recorded in the world."
Environmental charities such as Thames21 say they are tackling the issue by working with local communities to improve the river. With the help of volunteers, the organisation conducts quarterly litter surveys and regular clean-ups along the Thames.
The interactive map on the right shows London's 'key plastic hotspots' according to data by Thames21.
Liz Gyekye, communications manager at environmental charity Thames21, praised the efforts of London artists using recycled materials in their work.
She said: “I think it’s fantastic that all these artists are doing this. It’s really boosting the circular economy, taking one form of waste and making it into something beautiful.
“The Thames is a beautiful river, it’s the veins of the city, and I think it’s fantastic that we can turn something ugly and raise awareness of the plastic pollution issue.”
Liz also highlighted the importance of a clean Thames for the many fish species that live there.
The Thames was declared “biologically dead” by scientists at the Natural History Museum in 1957, but the London Wildlife Trust says there are now 125 species of fish living in the tidal Thames.
Liz said: “We see clams there, flounder, seals, so it’s rich in wildlife. People presume that because the Thames is brown, it’s dirty, but actually it’s the soils that make it that colour."
Thames21 is currently running a campaign calling on the government to ban plastic in wet wipes to protect the river's marine life.
Liz explained that when consumers flush wet wipes down the toilet, they can end up on the Thames foreshore and disintegrate into microplastics which are then eaten by fish.
“There’s evidence to show from Royal Holloway University and the National History Museum that the fish are eating these fibres which are then found in their digestive systems, which is pretty devastating."
One of the Thames21 team's quarterly litter surveys took place at the foreshore near Bishop's Park, Fulham, on 29th November.
Watch the video below to hear from organiser Toby Dighero and some of the volunteers about their experiences of the litter pick.
The interactive graph on the right shows a breakdown of litter collected during the survey.
Thames21 and the Port of London Authority recommend joining an organised Thames litter pick, as materials from the river must be handled carefully.
More information can be found here.