“The Plastic Bag Store” in New York sells groceries made exclusively from single-use plastic trash

A Brooklyn artist has used old plastic bags to create foods such as tomatoes, bananas and even sushi rolls for an installation in New York’s Times Square.

Pop-up art installation points critical lens at our culture of consumption

The Plastic Bag Store is a public art installation and immersive theater piece by Brooklyn-based artist and director Robin Frohardt, employing humour, craft, and pointing a critical lens to our culture of consumption and convenience — specifically, the enduring effects of our single-use plastics. Designed to coincide with the plastic bag ban in New York, which went into effect on 1 March 2020, it is intended to replicate the look of a traditional grocery store by making items with single-use plastic bags the artist collected from streets of New York City.

The Plastic Bag Store is presented to coincide with the New York State plastic bag ban

Free and open to the public, The Plastic Bag Store will occupy 20 Times Square, where shelves will be stocked with thousands of original, hand-sculpted items — produce and meat, dry goods and toiletries, cakes and sushi rolls —  all made from discarded, single-use plastics in an endless flux of packaging. 

At night, the store transforms into an immersive, dynamic set for free performances where hidden worlds and inventive puppetry tell the darkly comedic, sometimes tender story of how the overabundance of plastic waste we leave behind might be misinterpreted by future generations.

The Plastic Bag Store is presented to coincide with the New York State plastic bag ban, which came into effect 1 March, 2020. A controversial issue at the heart of the single-use plastics debate, the conversation around plastic bags has activated elected officials, environmental groups, business owners, everyday consumers, and press alike on a local, national, and global scale.

Source: TimesSquareArts

The Plastic Bag Store March 18, 2020 – April 12, 2020

Details: 

Robin Frohardt

Pomegranate Arts

20 Times Square (W 47th St and 7th Ave)
Store Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-6pm

Performances: Tuesday – Sunday, 7pm and 9 pm. Performances are free, but advance registration is required.

Reserve your advance tickets here. Performances are free, but seating is limited.

Learn more about the cast, crew, and production team