3 WTC Art Installation Highlights Plastic Waste in Climate Crisis

Earlier this month, Israeli artist Beverly Barkat unveiled her spherical sculpture “Earth Poetica” in the lobby of 3 World Trade Center. Presented in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program, the exhibit’s opening coincided with World Environment Day (June 5) and a focus on how plastic pollutants contribute to the climate crisis. Barkat’s large-scale addition to Lower Manhattan’s public art scene makes a conscious effort to increase awareness on the growing incursion of plastic waste and the possibility for creative redress. 

“Earth Poetica” reimagines the planet as a giant biosphere made of steel and bamboo, along with tons of plastic collected from oceans, waterways and forests. Composed of 180 panels and approximately 13 feet in diameter, the piece’s steel structure mimics longitude and latitude lines drawn by human science. A small entry portal allows viewers to peer inside the interior shell and discover that what initially appears to be hard-stained glass is actually just trash.

“It is exciting that the World Trade Center — itself a symbol of astonishing renewal — is the exhibition space for ‘Earth Poetica,’” Barkat said, “which likewise signals a message of hope and renewal.” 

“Earth Poetica” will be on view for six months.  

photo: Eugene Gologursky/Getty