Artivist Series - Suzanne Turaganiwai
visual artist, ocean plastic
Suzanne Turaganiwai is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Suzanne describes herself as a graphic designer, ocean advocate and avid outrigger paddler. Suzanne is an artivist with a passion for the arts and a background in marine science. Her artwork highlights the volume and range of marine debris that washes up along Fiji’s shores. Suzanne collects and upcycles this debris into colorful works that can be seen on her Instagram account. Her hope is that her art will help inspire others to become ocean stewards and more thoughtful about their waste production.
Video conversation with Suzanne…click here
What Suzanne talks about …
Suzanne describes Fiji as a collection of more than 300 islands north of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. Suzanne says that as a child she was aware that people just took it for granted that plastic was everywhere. She recognizes that Fijians have to get rid of the mindset that it’s someone else’s job to address the problem. Her artwork is trying to showcase the dimensions of the problem.
She is not sure where the trash comes from but suspects it washes down rivers and from the sewers. Common items that can be found on the beach are plastic water bottles and packaging, sanitary products, diapers, straws, strapping from crates, even bags filled with rubbish.
Her efforts took shape during Fiji’s second wave of Covid. She had more time to stroll the beach and realized plastic was a real problem. Suzanne decided to do something using her time and skills. She shares her artivism on her Instagram page Benu_ni_waitui which means marine rubbish in the Fijian language. She started her artwork using clothes pegs, plastic clothes pins that are different in style from the American version. Her attention has moved on to other colorful items like lighters, bottle tops, bucket lids, toys, and much more. She hops her creations trigger something in others to take their own actions. Her advice for those who don’t know where to begin is to start small; for example, bring your own bags to the market or refuse single use cutlery. Suzanne says “your efforts influence others around you.” In that way we create a ripple effect that spreads outward.
Show Notes
Pam Ferris-Olson (00:00): Today on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast, I'm speaking with Suzanne Turaganiwai. Suzanne describes herself as a graphic designer, ocean advocate, and avid outrigger paddler. Susan is an artivist with a passion for the arts and a background in marine science. Her creations highlight the problem of marine plastic pollution in Fiji, where she lives. The Women Mind the Water podcast series engages artists in conversation about their work and explores their connection with the ocean. Through their stories, Women Mind the Water hopes to inspire and encourage action to protect the ocean and her creatures.
Pam Ferris-Olson (00:46): I am excited to introduce the Women Mind the Water Artivist series audience, Suzanne Turaganiwai. It is amazing that I have the opportunity to speak with Suzanne who lives 8,000 miles away. It is my pleasure to be able to call attention to her colorful artwork. Suzanne's artwork highlights the volume and range of marine debris that watches up along Fiji's shores. Suzanne collects and upcycles this debris into colorful works that can be seen on her Instagram account. Her hope is that her art will help reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills, inspires young people to become ocean stewards, and generate money to fund coastal cleanups.
Pam Ferris-Olson (01:34): Welcome, Suzanne. I am grateful to Nina Rossiter for introducing us. Nina has been featured on this podcast and is one of moderators in an artivist room on Clubhouse. As Clubhouse is an audio only platform, it wasn't until I went to your Instagram account that I understood the significance of what you do with plastic trash. That's when I knew I wanted to meet you. Thank you for accepting my invitation to be on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Suzanne, let's talk about Fiji, ocean plastic, and what can be done about it. Why don't you start by telling listeners a little about Fiji. I feel sure that many haven't been there and only have the remotest sense of what Fiji is like.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (02:21): Thank you, Pam. And it's an honor to be here and thank you for the invitation to be on this podcast. So Fiji is located in the Pacific Ocean. We are settled just above New Zealand and we have about 300 plus islands, of which the capital is in Suva, where I am based. But I am from the other island, Vanua Levu.
Pam Ferris-Olson (02:52): Okay. Do you have any idea when plastic became a problem in Fiji? Was it a problem that slowly developed or did it become an immediate issue when the plastic began washing ashore?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (03:06): Well, my recollection growing up, we just knew that plastic was always used in our everyday life. So as a child, you just noticed that rubbish was everywhere and it became normal to us, taking it for granted that rubbish is there and we see it and we just acknowledge it. But I think it became a problem when people started littering and waste disposal systems weren't very efficient. And so now when you go out into the city and you see rubbish everywhere, it's a really big problem. And so we have to sort of change that mindset of being so used to seeing rubbish and that it's okay. So that's what I try to do with my work, showcase the problem. [crosstalk 00:04:11]
Pam Ferris-Olson (04:12): I think it's shocking for people like myself, that live in the United States, that when we think of Fiji, we think of an isle in paradise or island paradise. And yet you're saying that the people there have become used to living among pollution. And that's very sad.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (04:37): Yes. Well, most of the people, in my opinion, they just see the rubbish and they think it's somebody else's job. So they think it's the government's responsibility or other organizations to clean it up. Whereas it is our own actions that caused the problem.
Pam Ferris-Olson (05:01): Right. It's the very common human mindset that it's somebody else's problem. So some of the items in your pictures aren't familiar to me. For example, what you called clothes pegs don't look like what we call clothes pins here in America. Do you have a sense where the plastic is coming from? Is it plastic mostly generated in Fiji or is it washing ashore from somewhere else?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (05:29): I haven't really the faintest idea where it could be coming from. But my hypothesis is that most of the clothes pegs are washed up on the beach. And where we are located, it's just somewhere near the mouth of the Rewa River, where there's a bigger community upriver. And everyone, even myself included, we use the plastic clothes pegs, the kind that I show on my Instagram page, because that's the easiest to buy. It costs less than $5 for a pack of, let's say, maybe 50. And so what I'm thinking is that during the rainy weather, people hang their clothes and then you have some pegs that are on the ground after where you do your washing. And then when it rains, everything will just go into the drain and then come out to sea. And so that's what I think is happening is everything is just washed from everyone's house, comes into the drain out to sea, and then we meet it here on the beach.
Pam Ferris-Olson (06:45): Okay. So people who are upriver, who aren't on the shoreline, don't even know that it's having an effect. Does the Fijian government have any policies to help reduce plastic pollution or are they trying to it clean up what washes ashore?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (07:01): Littering is illegal. And so we have the Littering Act where people can be fined for discarding rubbish carelessly.
Pam Ferris-Olson (07:11): So what are some of the more common things that wash ashore?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (07:15): We have plastic FIJI bottles. We've got plastic packaging of different household kitchen products, like most common is the rice bags. The 10 kg bag is this big. They sell chicken in plastic bags. We get washed up chicken bags. The sanitary products. We've got a lot of diapers that wash up here.
Pam Ferris-Olson (07:46): Oh, that's nasty.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (07:47): Yes, it is. Even sometimes we have actual bags of rubbish that are still in a plastic bag of household rubbish [crosstalk 00:07:59]. We've got... What else? Sometimes we find syringes, straws. These strappings you use, I think, in these big crates that they bring in, strapping plastic pieces. Other items include containers, plastic containers. Since the ban on the polystyrene products, we've seen in the restaurants that they are using clear plastic containers now. So from one bad plastic to another bad plastic, they're still washing up.
Pam Ferris-Olson (08:43): So there's a certain commonality between what you're experiencing and what we experience here. We have a little less in terms of diapers but we have all the plastic packaging. So is there a story behind why you became a beach plastic collector?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (09:00): It actually started last year. We had the second wave of COVID-19 hit Fiji around April. And so most people didn't come into work and it was just a few of us that were coming in. Where I'm located is just by the beach, just here. So most of the time I'd find myself taking a stroll on the beach and picking up anything interesting because my colleague and I, we used to do that during the normal pre COVID. We'd come along the beach and just pick driftwood or any other interesting types of litter. But then as time passed on during the pandemic, I saw that it was a real problem and I thought to do something with my time and with my skills. And so I turned to activism because initially I am an artist.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (10:07): I started off as an artist and I work as a graphic designer and I studied marine science. So with my time on the beach, I just decided to use my talents and use my skills and just create an Instagram page to share with others in Fiji. At first, it was just in Fiji just to share with others what I find. And I took my inspiration from other marine debris activists online. In particular was this... I think his name is Ricardo. He's from Portugal where he will go on his own and collect big pieces of hard plastic and then just make beautiful sculptures from them.
Pam Ferris-Olson (11:00): I have to say that the internet has been wonderful. You were connected in Fiji with someone from Portugal and now we're from Maine. And I mentioned Nina and she's in France. So this is wonderful that we can make something happen in this otherwise dreadful COVID time. So what inspired you to start creating art from the discarded plastic?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (11:26): I would say it's the clothes pegs, because I started off with the clothes pegs. I would just come and collect clothes pegs to take home and use. And I found that all the clothes pegs you find is always colorful. And then my attention went on to other types of litter that was there. The cigarette lighters, the disposable lighters, which will also come in a range of colors. And it sort of clicked to me that, "Hang on. There's a whole supply of materials to use that's free and that just washes up on the beach that nobody cares about and that I can just [inaudible 00:12:13] and create it and use." And that's why I just thought of using the discarded plastic because it's there and it's plentiful.
Pam Ferris-Olson (12:25): Yeah, I love that, that the artist in you was like, "It's colorful and it's free. I have to do something with it." So what is your process? Take me through the process of collecting the debris to your final artwork.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (12:42): So, I collect in my free time. And I have a steady job and so my free time would be tea time and lunch time and after work. So that would be like one hour maybe 15 minutes at tea time, one hour at lunch, and spend me a half an hour in the afternoon. And I'd come and just pick whatever is interesting to me there. And then I take it and keep it in the bucket, let it soak overnight with a little bit of detergent just to wash off all the dirt. And then once I have more time, I will come back and just rinse everything off. And then I sort my trash onto a table just to dry. And that's when I take my pictures and then post some on Instagram. And so after it's sorted on the table, then I have a space at home where I just store everything. And once I have an idea of something to create, and then I'll go back to my storage of all my treasure and then I create something from there.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (13:58): So, the process of creating an art piece, it doesn't just come like that. It takes a bit of time to think about what to make and what's of value to design. Whether it's just an arrangement of different items or the same item in different colors, whatever would be interesting to me. And then I share it and hopefully someone else will see the creative value in it and give a comment or share. And then maybe that changes something in them to live more eco consciously.
Pam Ferris-Olson (14:43): Okay. So it would be wonderful if you discuss one or more of your art pieces you've created. And please, for those who are tuned to the audio only podcast, describe the artwork.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (14:59): One of the special pieces that I made last year was a mosaic piece of a manta ray. So I created it to coincide with Manta Ray Day. I think it was in September or October. So it's made up of a blue tarp that I found on the beach and had been sitting at home and I was wondering what to do with it and then I just thought of the upcoming Manta Ray Day. So I cut it into the shape of just the outline of the manta and I glued it onto a Masonite board about one meter by two, one [crosstalk 00:15:52]. And then the blue tarpaulin of the manta was pasted in the middle.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (16:01): And then I had used the bottle tops, blue and green, just surrounding the manta. And to show the markings of the manta on the back, I used these... On these juice cartons, we have the plastic lid. Those white milk cartons, they come with these lids. So those were along the back of the manta. And just to create a bit of 3D effect, I stuffed the tarpaulin with more plastic, just to give it some more shape.
Pam Ferris-Olson (16:46): Well, besides the colorful works that you do, one of my favorite pictures that you have up on your Instagram is a very simple picture. You have cutlery, forks and spoons, sticking out of the ground.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (17:01): Oh, yes.
Pam Ferris-Olson (17:04): That one really takes your breath away.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (17:08): Well, can I ask what did that make you feel? How did it make you feel?
Pam Ferris-Olson (17:15): It just was very simple and powerful, this message that plastic was just sprouting out of the earth.
Suzanne Turaganiwai (17:23): Mm. Right.
Pam Ferris-Olson (17:26): So do you have a sense if your efforts are having any impact?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (17:30): I hope so. Well, my efforts are not measured by weight or how much I've collected. But I think the impact in the number of people that have joined my journey on my page and have shared my work and that was my initial hope was to just create more awareness of the problem. And so the networks I have created in Fiji and with international new friends, I believe it has made an impact and I hope to build on that this year.
Pam Ferris-Olson (18:21): Wonderful. So before we finish, I want to ask you if you might offer ideas to our listeners. How can they make a positive difference in the lives of the ocean creatures in the ocean?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (18:36): I guess my only advice would be to start small because that's how I did it, is to just take that first step into doing something good. Whether it's changing your choice of bags, you bring your own bags from home to go shopping, or whether it's refusing the single use cutlery and the straws. You just start small with whatever you can do and then hopefully your actions influence others. Because if you make a change in your life and then your close circle, they see the positive impact of that. And you are influencing your small circle of friends or family and then they also influence their circles of people. And then it just flows out, that positive impact.
Pam Ferris-Olson (19:37): Right. So finally, Suzanne, would you tell listeners how they can see your photos of your art? What is your Instagram address?
Suzanne Turaganiwai (19:47): So my Instagram tag is [foreign language 00:19:51]. So it's benu_ni_waitui, which is just the Fijian translation of marine debris. [ foreign language 00:20:08] means rubbish. And [foreign language 00:20:12] is the ocean. So it's just rubbish from the ocean. So that's what I named my Instagram page.
Pam Ferris-Olson (20:21): Thank you, Suzanne, for being on the Women Mind the Water podcast. I hope listeners found our discussion empowering. You are a wonderful example of how an individual can take the initiative to make a difference. And yours is an effort that is most artfully done. I'd like to remind listeners that I have been speaking with Suzanne Turaganiwai. For the Women Mind the Water podcast series, the series can be viewed on womenmindthewater.com. And an audio only version of this podcast is available on the Women Mind the Water website on iTunes and other sites such as Spotify. Women Mind the Water is grateful to Jane Rice for the use of her song, Women of Water. All rights for the Women Mind the Water name and logo belong to Pam Ferris-Olson. This is Pam Ferris- Olson.