Daniela Contreras

Conceptual single-use mask made from single-use plastic for the COVID-19 crisis. Our modern world is filled with disposable materials, the COVID-19 crisis has made humans even more dependent on said materials. This mask is meant to comment on the idea of disposability and single-use by using waste material as a single-use alternative for a mask. Rather than being relevant for its function, the mask is meant to comment on the threats that humanity is facing now and will face in the future: sustainability and crisis. Both aspects are represented in the mask in terms of form and function. The up-cycled plastic water bottles comment on the unsustainable and disposable nature of our current society. The form that the bottles take up as a mask help comment on the idea of crisis. The carbon and oil-dependent development of our world is fundamentally unsustainable. Because of our unsustainable economic, social, and environmental practices, we are especially vulnerable at times of crisis. Whether it be the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, or any other imminent emergency, this mask intends to call attention to the inherent links between the lack of sustainable practices and times of crisis.