About bottle caps and a general denial of reality.

I made this work in 2012. I filled a humming top with plastic objects found in the stomach of one albatross chick on Kure Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian islands). 340 g. Cigarette lighters, plastic fragments, toys and mainly bottle caps.

There is a reason why the lids no longer come off the bottles!

[Swaantje Güntzel, stomach contents/340g, 2012, plastics, metal, 19,7 x 26,7 x 25,4 cm]

Realized with the help of Kure Atoll Conservancy.

#art #conceptualart #object #kureatollconservancy #pacificocean #pazifik #marinedebris #bottlecaps #marinepollution #albatross #laysanalbatross #hummingtop #bottlecaps #flaschendeckel #drehkreisel #kreisel #spielzeugkreisel #nordwestlichehawaiiinseln #northwesternhawaiianislands #konzeptkunst #kunst #kureatoll #einwegfeuerzeuge #feuerzeug #cigarettelighter #plasticpollution

stomach contents XXL

Vending machine filled with plastic toys that have been ingested by Laysanalbatrosses in the Pacific Ocean. The objects were found in the bolus of dead albatrosses on Midway and Kure Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

Realized with the help of Kure Atoll Conservancy.

[Swaantje Güntzel, stomach contents XXL, 2014, plastics, metal, height: 145 cm]

Fotos: Alexander Burzik

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #installation #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #marinedebris #kureatoll #kureatollconservancy #midwayatoll #pacificocean #pazifik #laysanalbatros #laysanalbatross #bolus #toya #spielzeuge #plastik #plastics #plasticpollution #plasticcrisis #warenautomat #vendingmachine #swaantjegüntzel #swaantjeguentzel #alexanderburzik #northwesternhawaiianislands

MICROPLASTICS II / Portrait

Portrait of the artist covered with microplastic particles that she had collected in the frame of an intervention ("Microplastics") realized in 2016. During three hours she sat at Playa de Montaña Bermeja/Lanzarote and cleared 1 squaremeter of microplastics. 1370 pieces were counted.

The work was later used in the campaign "In your face" by Ocean. Now! -> https://ocean-now.org/inyourface/

..and was just recently featured in the scientific paper "Revealing the Invisible: Marine Plastic Waste and its Effects in Science-Inspired Visual Art" by Silvia Kurr as a case study (IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science):
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1474/1/012018

[Swaantje Güntzel, Microplastics II, 2016, Diasec, 120 x 80 cm]

Foto: Henriette Pogoda

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #photography #fotografie #portrait #porträt #mikroplastik #microplastics #lanzarote #canaryislands #kanarischeinseln #atlantik #atlantic #marinedebris #plasticpollution #plastikkrise #henriettepogoda #oceannow #inyourface #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #silviakurr #iop #womenartists #womensart #nasenbluten

NORTH SEA // Surprise Eggs

Oil painting inspired by Patrick von Kalckreuth's "Schaumkronen auf Wogender See" (1950), commissioned by a Chinese copyist in "Dafen Village" in Shenzhen on behalf of the artist. The oil paint was mixed with plastic particles obtained from shredded surprise eggs. The surprise eggs come from a vessel that lost its freight in a heavy storm on January 4th, 2017 off the coast of the East Frisian island Langeoog.

Realized with the help of Lions Club Langeoog.

[Swaantje Güntzel, NORTH SEA // Surprise Eggs, 2018, oil on canvas, plastics, 59 x 89 cm]

Subsequently added text as ALT TEXT
Oil painting by the German artist Swaantje Güntzel inspired by the work „Schaumkronen auf wogender See“ of the painter Patrick von Kalckreuth. The image shows a powerful wave in the North Sea with a foamy white crest. The various hues go from deep blues to shimmering whites and soft greens. The oil paint was mixed with colorful plastic particles that lie on the surface of the painting. The plastic particles come from shredded surprise eggs that washed ashore the beaches of the Frisian island Langeoog after a container vessel lost 6 containers in a storm in January 2017. The first image shows the details of the plastic particles on the crest of the wave, the second image shows the complete work framed in a simple black wooden frame.

Foto: Tobias Hübel

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #malerei #painting #oiloncanvas #marinedebris #surpriseeggs #überraschungseier #northsea #nordsee #patrickvonkalckreuth #schaumkronen #wellen #waves #copyist #shenzhen #langeoog #frisia #ostfriesland #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #plastik #containerhavarie #containervessel #mikroplastik #microplastics #ferrero

JOANA / ingested, 2019

Portrait of the artists assistant “throwing up” plastic fragments that were found in the bolus of an albatross chick on Kure Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

Realized with the help of Kure Atoll Conservancy.

[Swaantje Güntzel, JOANA / ingested, 2019, Diasec, 112 x 80 cm]

Foto: Henriette Pogoda
Model: Joana Bacelar

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #marinedebris #plasticpollution #pixelfedart #womenartists #pacific #fotografie #photography #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #kunst #portrait #porträt #pazifik #kureatoll #kureatollconservancy #cynthiavanderlip #henriettepogoda #joanabacelar #northwesternhawaiianislands #laysanalbatros #laysanalbatross #albatros #albatross #seabirdsanctuary #seabirds #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #marinepollution

SEASCAPE I / Nordfrieslandmuseum Husum

This is the first work I produced within my ongoing series "SEASCAPES" in 2020.

Portrait staged in front of a seascape without title by Karl Rohwedder-Ruge (1865-1940), dated on the first third of the 20th century. The painting is part of the collection of Nordfriesland Museum. Nissenhaus Husum. The artist is surrounded by single use plastic items typically found in public space.

[Swaantje Güntzel, SEESTÜCK I / Nordfrieslandmuseum Husum, 2020, Diasec, 80 x 120 cm]

Foto: Henriette Pogoda

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #nordfrieslandmuseum #husum #karlrohwedderruge #seestück #seestücke #seascape #seascapes #museum #collection #oilpainting #painting #paintings #northsea #nordsee #photography #fotografie #henriettepogoda #waste #marinedebris #littering #singleuseplastic #coffeetogo #takeaway #fastfood #müll #plasticbag #plastiktüte #plastikflasche #plasticbottle #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #strabd #beach #waves #wellen #einwegplastik #caprisonne #caprisun #durstlöscher #navydress #goldrahmen

SEASCAPE III / Bröhan-Museum

Portrait realized in front of the work "Wellen im Sturm" (Waves in the storm), 1915, by Karl Hagemeister at Bröhan-Museum Berlin. The artists is holding foil balloons while contemplating the painting, being surrounded by balloons found on different German beaches and balloons that already deflated.

[Swaantje Güntzel, SEESTÜCK (Seascape) III / Bröhan-Museum, 2021, Diasec, 80 x 120 cm]

Foto: Henriette Pogoda
Assistance: Joana Bacelar

#art #conceptualart #conceptualphotography #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #photography #fotografie #bröhanmuseum #berlin #seascape #seestück #seestücke #balloon #balloons #luftballons #folienballon #marinedebris #karlhagemeister #museum #ausstellung #welle #waves #wellenimsturm #deutschesee #rügen #ostsee #herzballon #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #mickymouse #swan #schwan #unicorn #einhorn #henriettepogoda

SEASCAPE IV / Museum Kunst der Westküste, Föhr

Production in front of the work “Harbor Entrance” (1916) by Erich Heckel (1883–1970). The work was realized in the painting depot of Museum Kunst der Westküste (Föhr). The artist holds a 100-pound US aerial bomb under her arm which was recovered from the North Sea. The work is part of the artist´s ongoing series "Seascapes".

In the German North and Baltic Seas, there are contaminated sites of about 1.6 million tons of conventional munitions and 5,000 tons of chemical warfare agents dumped during World War II by military operations or afterwards by dumping (source: Federal Environment Agency Germany).

Realized with the help of SeaTerra GmbH.

[Swaantje Güntzel, SEESTÜCK IV / Museum Kunst der Westküste, Föhr, 2024, Diasec, 80 × 120 cm]

Foto: Henriette Pogoda
Assistance: Joana Bacelar

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #fotografie #photography #seascape #seascapes #seestück #seestücke #erichheckel #war #munition #worldwar1 #ww1 #worldwar2 #ww2 #marinedebris #seaterra #mkdw #museumkunstderwestküste #föhr #nordsee #ostsee #northsea #balticsea #museum #museumsdepot #painting #henriettepogoda #aerialbomb #bomb #zerscheller #hafeneinfahrt #fliegerbombe #ammunition #paintings #reddress #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel

Stereoscopy

A miniature Volvic plastic bottle was glued into a historical stereoscopy showing a historical maritime view.

[Swaantje Güntzel, Stereoscopy, 2021, paper, plastics, 37,5 × 29,9 cm]

Foto: Tobias Hübel

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #stereoskopie #stereoscopy #volvic #miniaturobjekt #maritimeansicht #maritimephotography #fotografie #photography #marinedebris #waste #plastikflasche #plasticbottle #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #marinepollution

ARCTIC YOGHURT
Intervention

“On December 2nd, 2021 at 12.04 a.m. I ate a yoghurt and threw the plastic pot into the Ofotfjord (Norway)”

[Swaantje Güntzel, Arctic Yoghurt, 2021, Intervention]

Foto: Jan Philip Scheibe

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #intervention #performanceart #performance #marinedebris #waste #yoghurt #artcticyoghurt #plasticpollution #ofotfjord #norway #norwegen #reddress #fjord #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel #womensart #womenartist #arktis #arctic

Setzkasten XL

Display case filled with toys washed ashore the beaches of Kure and Midway Atoll and swallowed by Laysanalbatrosses. The albatrosses were found with stomachs filled with plastic objects on both atolls (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

Realized with the help of Kure Atoll Conservancy.

[Swaantje Güntzel, Setzkasten XL, 2018, plastics, wood, glass, 41, 3x 31,5 cm]

Foto: Tobias Hübel

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #object #marinedebris #pacific #kureatoll #midwayatoll #midway #pazifik #waste #toys #spielzeuge #beach #strand #kureatollconservancy #plastik #plastics #laysanalbatros #albatrosse #swaantjeguentzel #swaantjegüntzel