Becoming Plastic
November 6th, 2025 - January 17th, 2026
Opening Reception November 6th, 5:30-7:30 PM
Annually, the Bridgeport Art Trail (BAT) proposes a theme to reflect the zeitgeist of the current year. The 2025 BAT theme is “Connections for Good Stewardship.” “In many cultures, stewardship is tied to a moral or ethical duty to care for the Earth and its inhabitants.” – Word Wise Dictionary
Artists are often empaths, compelled to reflect on current issues, expressing feelings, stories, and offering new ideas. Several 2025 BAT exhibits and projects employ the arts to advocate for good stewardship of the planet and community connections to strengthen and build collaboration.
The exhibit Becoming Plastic opens at City Lights Gallery on Thursday, November 6, for the downtown kickoff of the 17th annual Bridgeport Art Trail with a reception from 5:30-7:30pm, with the exhibit running to January 17.
Avoiding the consumption of microplastics is nearly impossible, even found in remote places. like snow samples from Antarctica. We all are consuming, ingesting, and breathing plastic, through the air, water, earth, and manufactured goods. It is in our foods, drink, clothing, lotions, containers, etc.
Bold, colorful, innovative eco-art raises awareness of the hazard of the inundation of plastic impacting all living things and the planet. The walls pop with astonishing works of repurposed plastic, with vibrant textures, color and forms. Every artist in the exhibit has found their unique way to express their vision and concerns, from constructions made from harvested trash and toys to the production of home cooked ‘bioplastic’.
Artists include Janine Brown, Debbie Gilbert, Deb Jennings, kHyal, Daniel Lanzilotta, Gerald Moore, Riva Nayaju, Kelsie Oreta, Alison Pasquini, Sarah Schneiderman, Ashley Smith, Ellen Tresselt, Joan Wheeler, Helen Zajkowski.
Art by kHyal
Featured Bridgeport Artists
Daniel Lanzilotta
Art by Daniel Lanzilotta
Daniel Lanzilotta is the lead artist and inspiration of this exhibit. He sees the hazard of plastic everywhere. He believes changes in human behavior can help minimize the threat to the planet and ourselves. Haunting yet playful works manifest the dire conditions man has subjected himself to, like the dark headlike form with orange and yellow accents called the Mask, or a whimsical tower made from crack vials found on the streets of New York. His sculptures and jewelry pieces are constructed with individually crafted beads, made from melted plastic trash that he collects from the streets and shorelines. He builds and strings the beads together with plastic broom bristles, making dynamic works that challenge the viewer to face the toxic detritus of plastic. Every handmade bead and fragment are a metaphor signifying the cumulative sum of human acts that compiled over the decades have created an overwhelming health hazard. See his art and learn more about Daniel here.
kHyal
kHyal is a self-taught environmental activist and artist who has been working with recycled materials since the early 1980s. Her 'Signs of the Times' mixed-media sculptures are crafted from reclaimed plastics saved from landfills. Each piece is a call to action to put the brakes on fossil fuel-based materials and reconsider our obsession with consumerism. Her colorful use of discarded toys and nostalgic pop memorabilia draws viewers in, serving as a platform for more serious discussions about the toxic impact of plastics on human health and the planet. Learn more about kHyal’s work here.
Art by kHyal
Janine Brown
Janine Brown cooks up her bioplastic in her American Fabrics studio making thin gelatinous slabs that she spreads out like cookie dough. Using natural biodegradable products, she lets the material set up and dry into large rubbery swatches. This is the’ fabric’ she uses to create her art. To achieve a variety of patterns and colors she adds flowers and vegetables such as rose petals, tomatoes or carrots. A surprising selection of papers from her shredded monthly bills to US currency taken out of circulation are mixed into her bioplastic concoctions underscoring our pernicious tendency for overconsumption. Read more here.
Art by Janine Brown
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore constructs sculptures with found transparent plexiglass slabs and shapes, contrasted by opaque forms to spike a stunning tension, visually, emotionally and intellectually. In his words, “I play with cryptic dynamics, to offer a moment for the viewer to encounter the work.”
Sarah Scheiderman
A large flag-like work by Sarah Schneiderman commands a main wall in the gallery. Medical paraphernalia is sewn onto stripes of red and white. Used pill blister packs are arranged on a blue square. She explains, “This one of a kind assemblage investigates my country's quality of healthcare and lack of commitment to the environment. It is made of non-recyclable medical waste sewn into black netting.”
About Becoming Plastic
Since WWII plastic has been a cheap, malleable convenience, replacing metal, rubber and glass; it has grown in production and use. Like all of us, all the lead artists, educators and planning project team partners contend with plastic debris. Some studies show that we consume a credit card size amount of microplastic per month, through air, water and food. It is found in soil, plants, animals, the air, even in remote pristine parts of the Arctic and our National Parks. Although there is ongoing research, currently there is no simple way to break down plastic. The amount to be processed is overwhelming, impacting the planet, marine life, soil, water, air, and humans.
This exhibit will also present information regarding how to minimize our consumption of plastic and how we can ‘become plastic’, as in the literal meaning, to reshape or manipulate or change something, including our daily behaviors regarding plastic use. It is our responsibility, for the sake of all living things and the health of the planet, that we are mindful of our behaviors, to reduce, reuse and recycle and make alternative choices to plastic.
“The Mask” by Daniel Lanzilotta
From the Human Impacts Institute Creative Climate Awards Statement: (Panel of Judges-Giovanni Russonello, Federico Villa, Janet Wong)
The Mask is a striking art piece entirely crafted from ocean and street debris plastic waste, meticulously handcrafted into beads and unique pieces. Each carries a narrative, drawing viewers in with its captivating colors, subtly conveying a powerful message about the pervasive impact of plastic consumption on our environment and initiating a dialogue to confront our role in perpetuating the cycle of plastic pollution.
By highlighting the connection between plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions, the artwork serves as a reminder of the urgent need for behavioral modification and systematic change in our approach to plastic consumption and disposal.
Daniel is from the Bronx and (was) a resident artist of Leogane, Haiti, where plastic debris and burning are prevalent, the artist brings firsthand knowledge and aims to advocate to bring it to an end. Read more.