Renowned contemporary artist Leeroy New works on sustainability through art with Samsung in his current piece, Ectoplastic Fantasia. He shows how artists and brands can work together to advance the global cause of sustainability in their art.
Sustainability Through ARt with Leeroy New
Samsung continues to highlight its commitment to #EverydaySustainability as it partnered with contemporary artist Leeroy New to create a sustainable art piece for the launch of its flagship line-up, the Galaxy S23 series.
Leeroy’s art installation called Ectoplastic Fantasia was the centerpiece in Samsung’s Epic Sustainability room during the Epic House Event. The installation featured ambiguous forms of marine life made from discarded plastic that lined the ceiling of the room.
On the inspiration behind his newest piece, Leeroy explained, “These prehistoric-looking sci-fi creatures hanging above us right now made out of discarded plastics speaks about how a lot of these end up in our ocean. Having done large-scale works, I have learned to think about the life cycles of the materials I use and I have put it on as a personal challenge to strictly use materials that are already available instead of buying new ones.”
Leeroy shared his rationale behind using discarded, recycled materials behind his masterpieces as he sees art as a tool in opening the discussion of sustainability and the state of the environment.
“Art can be one of the many ways we can address the issue. Art doesn’t necessarily have to represent the problem but it can be a proposal for the solution. Instead of using new materials, I challenged myself to strictly focus on making my works using surplus materials,” New explained.
The Philippine Art Scene and Sustainability
Leeroy has been a catalyst in the Philippine art scene with his visions of nature and science-fiction across different fields of theatre, fashion, film, and visual art.
Born in Mindanao, Leeroy has created eye-catching works of art to shine the spotlight on the problem of climate change such as his latest piece Mebuyan’s Vessel, made from discarded materials, offering an interesting meditation between science-fiction and Bagobo mythology while simultaneously raising the issue of sustainability and the climate.
Leeroy commended Samsung’s efforts of sustainability with the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, underlining how companies can have a big impact in combating climate change.
“I’m in support of big companies who can make a change and move towards a greener and sustainable way of production. Awareness is key. Taking into consideration the effects of mass production on the environment, I’m just happy to support these companies that are becoming more mindful of how they source materials, how they produce things, and their carbon footprint. It’s a slow process but the first step is becoming aware of it and moving towards [sustainability].”
Samsung’s Contribution to #EverydaySustainability
Aside from Leeroy’s installation, Samsung’s epic sustainability room also encouraged guests to make a promise towards creating a greener planet at the Pledge Wall, a digital display where guests can use the S-Pen to write pledges on the wall in real-time. Guests were invited to make their own commitments to sustainability by asking them “What can you do for the planet?”
Samsung has emphasized its mission to contribute to global sustainability efforts with the release of the Galaxy S23 Series to meet the urgency of the global climate crisis. Designed with the planet in mind, parts of the Galaxy S23 Series are made of recycled materials. For instance, the front case and back glass of the smartphones are made with 80% recycled PET bottles, 20% recycled, ocean-bound plastic, and 22% recycled glass for its screen. It is also the first Galaxy flagship device to integrate recycled aluminum, used in the side key, volume keys, and SIM tray of the phone. The packaging of the new series is also made with 100% recycled paper.
#ShareTheEpic with the Galaxy S23 Series
The Galaxy S23 currently retails for PHP 53,990 for the 128GB variant, and PHP 57,990 for the 256GB variant. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S23+ starts at PHP 68,990 for 256GB variant, and PHP 76,990 for the 512GB variant. Lastly, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is available at PHP 81,990 and PHP 89,990 for the 256GB and 512GB variants respectively. A Samsung Online Store exclusive 1TB Galaxy S23 Ultra is also available at PHP 103,990.