A Picnic Rug for the Anthropocene

What could be nicer than a picnic out in nature?

A Picnic Rug for the Anthropocene looks at the immense profusion of waste materials produced by humanity, and by implication their effects on the environment. Landfill, pollution, dumping, litter - with detrimental environmental effects ranging from the aesthetic to the ecocidal - is a massive and increasing problem.

In this case, collected UHT milk cartons, diverted from the recycling bin, flattened and “topped-and-tailed”, become cylinders. Cut as a spiral, the cylinders then become two and a half metre long ribbons of laminated plastic, metal foil and cardboard, with sharply pointed ends. And woven together, 127 cartons - the sole material used - become a fringed floor-mat, a magic carpet, a picnic rug.

A Picnic Rug for the Anthropocene suggests an alternative, of the use and re-cycling of humanity’s waste materials into something useful, allowing us to enjoy time spent in nature without destroying it.

This work was exhibited in the WAMA Art Prize at the National Centre for Environmental Art in Halls Gap, Victoria in 2025-2026.