Exposing pollution through art: Q&A with artist Olga Diego ahead of UCD installation

A temporary art installation inviting reflection on plastic waste is coming to UCD. Created specifically for the Newman building by renowned artist Olga Diego, this giant plastic interactive sculpture invites you to engage with the artwork, offering an opportunity to explore Diego's creative process up close and personal. From October 6 - 12, 2025.

* What first drew you to working with plastic waste as a material - and how does it connect with your broader artistic practice?

Firstly, responsibility. Seeing the excesses of this type of material that we produce on a daily basis and being aware of the serious environmental problem it causes mainly because we are taking over the planet. This is a serious issue, and I believe that through art, as a platform of communication, we can expose it and encourage reflection in order to try to find some sort of solution.

Secondly, easy access and price. Its proximity and accessibility. We have it in our own home or in those of our friends and family. From a financial perspective, it couldn’t be cheaper! We have an inexhaustible source at our disposal at zero cost. Any art student understands this advantage. 

And thirdly: its plasticity and beauty. Extraordinary things can be built with plastic.

* ‘Metamorphosis’’ turns discarded plastic into an immersive sculpture. Where did you get the idea - and the discarded plastic itself?

It was back in 2012, when I started to work with giant constructions made out of  thin plastic for an exhibition at the Mustang Art Gallery in Alicante. I then realised that these type of constructions with plastic lended themselves to implicate the spectator as an active element of the work, that is, they enabled audience participation. This is an aspect that has always interested me because it also has to do with connecting performance with sculpture; the living and the ephemeral with the still and the permanent. It is about co-authorship.

At that time, I acquired the material from a plastics factory in Elche as it was impossible to build the large structures by reusing small discarded plastic bags which were likely to be damaged or punctured. However, by applying the premise of zero plastic waste, the constructed work never ends up as such, since in recent years I have developed techniques to transform it into a new, solid, and permanent piece. A new sculpture made with all the material from the previous one. A kind of modern reduction and miniaturization.

* How did you make it and how long did it take?

It usually takes me a year to carry out a project of this nature. Metamorphosis is a work that was first created in 2013 and has been transformed with each exhibition up to the present day. It is made of thin, translucent white plastic, heat-sealed and textured with heat.

* How can people interact with it and what do you hope they take away from this interaction?

People can draw or write on its outer surface, its skin. For this, colored markers will be available. The sculpture carries various connotations, and one of them is that it becomes a medium for communication and expression—like a Babel sculpture that collects languages and emotions from different places. It will also be possible to enter the inflatable sculpture through an opening-entrance. This will be supervised by volunteers who will assist the public and monitor capacity inside.

Metamorphosis is a habitable sculpture and a melting pot of languages, which would not exist as such without the participation of the public.

* Your installation is both visual and performative. Why do you think performance and participation are powerful tools in addressing environmental issues like plastic pollution?

The visual aspect of art, as I have already mentioned, is a channel of communication, and as such it allows us to send messages. I believe we need to express things that, in some way, contribute to improving our environment and society.

Performance is life seasoned with art. In this way, art infiltrates and blends with experience and becomes an essential part of people. Because of this, the message and invitation to reflection that art proposes begins its journey and exerts an influence on society. In addition to this, the involvement and participation of people make the work belong to them, allowing both to influence one another.

* Plastic is often associated with permanence and pollution, but here it becomes temporary and transformative. How do you approach this paradox in your work?

I have partly answered this in question two but I would add that plastic itself is a very versatile and useful material. Its negative connotations and the environmental problems it brings about stem from the amount of waste that is generated on a daily basis —a problem caused and fueled by the level of consumption in our capitalist society.

With regards to Metamorphosis, the plastic used is light, fragile, almost like our skin. In fact, it is the skin of a giant made of air. This type of plastic is indeed perishable and will, over time, lose its qualities in the same way as performance is temporary and flexible.

* This piece sits within UCD’s Newman Building, a space for learning and discourse. How does the academic setting influence the way you conceived this installation?

This is the first time it has been installed in a university space, and this—as well as the physical and functional characteristics of the building—provides both an incentive and a challenge. The interactions with this space also become new traces that will leave their marks on the work and become part of it. The academic setting seems like an ideal place for it because the piece serves as a medium for communication and a space for encounter and reflection.

* Can you tell us about your own journey into environmental concerns—was there a moment or experience that sparked your interest in sustainability through art?

In my case, recognizing the environmental problem of plastic waste was a gradual process, but there was a key moment that made me see it more clearly. In 2004, I learned about the existence of the gigantic floating island of plastic waste in the North Pacific Ocean and saw images of it on the internet. I found it unbelievable and devastating. Its size was already so large that it was referred to as the Eighth Continent. This was tremendously concerning for me, because those images showed something that would only continue to grow and we  therefore needed to try to stop it.

* Collaboration is central to this project, with students, staff, and visitors engaging directly with the work. What sorts of responses have people given you to the installation and what role do you see collective action playing in shifting how we think about climate and sustainability?

The public’s responses have been varied and have not always centered on climate or sustainability. On many occasions, people expressed more personal issues—about illness, love, or fears. This sculpture, almost architecture, also provokes magical sensations, like those of a Sahrawi foster child who, while inside the inflatable sculpture wanted to stay there forever and called her mother in the Sahara to tell her and show it to her.

I believe that collective-performative projects like this expose important issues and encourage reflection. Afterwards, collective action becomes essential and highly necessary. It is the way to make our concerns and discontent visible, whether through art, protests, conferences, or other means.

* Many people feel overwhelmed by the scale of the climate crisis. How do you hope your installation helps transform feelings of helplessness into reflection or even action?

I don’t have the exact answer to this question, but perhaps this installation can serve as a channel to express that frustration and as a place to make visible our discontent. From there, if we want to overcome this sense of powerlessness, it becomes necessary to find a solution—or at least to start taking action. Things don’t get solved by standing by doing nothing.