Plastic 

Neale Worley's painting "Plastic" confronts us with a beach awash in plastic debris. The scene, though contemporary, evokes the ancient motif of the "locus amoenus," the idyllic and pleasant place, now grotesquely transformed. The young girl walking across the beach reminds us of figures from classical paintings, such as Botticelli’s Venus, however, instead of walking on a seashell, she steps over waste. The water bottles themselves act as a twisted vanitas symbol – a reminder of mortality and the transience of life. Historically, vanitas paintings featured objects like skulls and decaying fruit. Here, the plastic bottles – emblems of our disposable culture – serve the same purpose, highlighting our own contribution to environmental degradation. The painting’s emotional power lies in this unsettling juxtaposition: the innocence of youth contrasted with the harsh reality of ecological damage, provoking a deep, subconscious unease. It prompts us to question what we are leaving behind.