Paintings by Alex Demers: The Impact of Human Consumption

French painter Alex Demers creates semi-abstract paintings of wildlife. She does it by first creating impressions of waste generated from common mass-produced goods on a primed canvas, which means using trash as makeshift stamps. Demers uses everything from plastic bottles, kitchen sponges, clothes hangers, and so much more. Afterwards, she then uses her intuitively formed composition as a background for figurative paintings of land and marine life. 

By doing so, she is making a connection between human waste and the animals. Her pieces show that the lives of these animals have been affected by human consumption habits, especially by the items that she used to create the piece’s background. Hence, her paintings become reminders to choose everyday products that are sustainable and will not harm wildlife throughout their lifecycle. This is why her work is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Responsible Consumption and Production, Life on Land, and Life Below Water.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Facts & Figures on Marine Population has estimated that over one million animals die each year after ingesting or becoming trapped in improperly disposed of trash. Plastic litter has also been known to be the most common cause of death for all ocean life, affecting over 100,000 dolphins, fish, whales, turtles and much more each year.

The Harvard Business Review has outlined six different steps that consumers can take to make greener choices. Much like Demers has done, they have also highlighted the importance of cultivating greener habits. It is not just enough to purchase sustainable alternatives to everyday products; this decision has to become a habitual one, which will ensure that green efforts are sustainable and not one-time actions. Other small changes in everyday habits are also necessary, such as making sure that electronic home appliances are not plugged in when not in use, and that water isn't left running when washing the dishes.

Alex Demers’ message is being effectively delivered through her eye-catching paintings as she tends to choose colours that stand out. Her abstract backgrounds crowd the figuratively drawn animals, making them feel claustrophobic. But, as seen with her painting of an octopus titled Atypique, these animals are still very much alive. The animals in her work are represented as reaching out to humanity for help against the circumstances that humankind has put them in.

Find out more about semi-abstract paintings by Alex Demers and their other initiatives by checking their Instagram on @alex_artiste_painting.