It seemed like such a great thing at the time. A material that was long-lasting, cheap and versatile. Bottles, bags, cups, straws, those ring thingies that hold a six-pack of tinnies together, netting, packaging, toys. We couldn’t get enough of the stuff. Use it for a bit (or once), chuck it away and get some more.

Dean Walsh in Infinite Item. Photo © Heidrun Löhr

As we now know, putting plastic into landfill is merely covering up something that’s still going to be there in a couple of hundred years. Letting it get into our oceans and smaller waterways is even worse.

Dean Walsh’s performance piece Infinite Item has its genesis in his passion for the marine environment. It’s far from a new-found enthusiasm, having informed a great deal of his work over the past decade. He knows his subject and as a highly trained scuba diver Walsh has seen first-hand what many only read about.

This deep connection with his subject infuses every moment of Infinite Item’s 75 minutes. Cleverly, the piece is as seductive as it is horrifying. Infinite Item begins in the depths. Walsh embodies a blind sea...