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Item Name: Sculpture
Title: Petro Max’d
Maker: Griffith Baker
Year: 2009
Country: Canadian
Materials: plastic bottle caps and glue
Measurements: overall: 315 cm x 65 cm (diameter)
ID Number: PC2009.2
Legal Status: PERMANENT COLLECTION


Extended Label Info: Griffith Aaron Baker uses post-consumer waste as an art material, recycling otherwise discarded plastics into sculptures and installations that challenge us to think about the impact of our culture’s design, manufacturing and waste cycle. Commissioned by Dunlop Art Gallery, this monumental sculpture is created entirely from plastic bottle caps that were collected over a few months, but would normally have been thrown away by Regina’s recycling service. Shaped like a giant plastic bottle, the sculpture visually resembles a brand of pop, “Pepsi Max”, but in fact, the label reads “Petro Max’d”. Slowly melting, the bottle is oozing into a black pool, visually turning back into the oil from which it was manufactured. Many types of plastics are not easily recycled, or do not decompose, and have become a dangerous type of pollution in our oceans. This work strengthens the message that all plastics should be recycled, to keep this material from entering our sensitive eco-systems. Griffith Aaron Baker (1981- ) was born in Saskatoon, and earned his BFA Honours in sculpture at the University of Regina (2004), and his MFA from Concordia University (2009). As a student, Baker worked as a waste and recycling contractor, an experience which inspired him to address environmental issues in his art and to create artwork with ecologically responsible materials. Currently, Baker combines his studio practice with work as a curator and arts administrator. He has exhibited nationally, and his sculptures are held in private and public collections in North America.