Toxic Legacies

Leila Wallisser has been awarded the First Prize of the German Design Graduate (GDG) Committee 2023 in the category »Sustainability and Circularity« for her Master’s Thesis »Toxic Legacies« conducted at weißensee school of art and design berlin, supervised by »Matters of Activity« Members Professor Dr.-Ing. Karola Dierichs and Prof. Dr. Lucy Norris.

»Toxic Legacies« is an innovative design project that delves into the world of recycling, shedding light on how the concept of recycling can tend to justify the production of waste in a consumer-based system. In today’s world, greenwashing has become all too common, and companies often promote their recycling efforts without truly addressing the underlying environmental issues or impact. With the help of discarded cigarette butts, »Toxic Legacies« starts with a series of material tests that show the aesthetic and seductive qualities in small waste items that otherwise pose a significant environmental threat – testing how best to transform their negative connotations into something visually captivating. By then reshaping and repurposing these discarded items into a series of useless products, the accompanying campaign »re:cig« presents a series of untouchable soaps, unwearable yarns and unburnable candles. Each product promotes itself to be recycled to a minimal percentage, bringing to light the irony of some of these sustainability claims. Slogans such as »from waste to waste« and »freeing you of guilt« encapsulate this essence and serve as a reminder that recycling alone is not enough. By embracing the irony of repurposing waste into more waste, »Toxic Legacies« provokes thought about the need for genuine sustainability efforts and questions if we even really need some of these materials in the first place.

https://germandesigngraduates.com/toxic-legacies/