Poly-Pledge was an interactive art project by artists Pete Bouchard and J. Leigh Garcia. The project featured a human-powered vending machine that dispensed reusable screen printed bags in exchange for pledges against the use of plastic bags for one month. Pledges inserted in the relief-carved machine caused it to release bubbles in a built-in water tank, stirring plastic debris found on the shores of Lake Mendota. Throughout 2016, the machine appeared at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Campus Mall, Library Mall, Allen Centennial Garden, Lakeshore Path and Dejope Residence Hall.
The project culminated in the symposium Poly Pledge: A Public Art and Science Event Mixing Water and Plastic. It was sponsored by The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute in collaboration with Anne Moser, UW-Madison Senior Special Librarian, and Timothy Hoellein, Loyola University Assistant Professor and Aquatic Ecologist. Hoellein gave a lecture on the effects of micro-plastics on aquatic environments, while Bouchard and Garcia’s spoke about their practice and Poly-Pledge project.
The project culminated in the symposium Poly Pledge: A Public Art and Science Event Mixing Water and Plastic. It was sponsored by The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute in collaboration with Anne Moser, UW-Madison Senior Special Librarian, and Timothy Hoellein, Loyola University Assistant Professor and Aquatic Ecologist. Hoellein gave a lecture on the effects of micro-plastics on aquatic environments, while Bouchard and Garcia’s spoke about their practice and Poly-Pledge project.
