Gilles Cenazandotti Polar Bear, 2016.

Fusing a story of sustainability and animal welfare,  the chromatic and playful sculptures fabricated from found objects ponder the future of the environment. Each of Gilles Cenazandotti‘s sculptures and assemblages are composed of polyurethane material culled from the Mediterranean Sea. The style of sauvegarde art, or safeguarding, is a unique environmental method that draws upon the French artist’s love for the environment and his love for forming art from unconventional materials. Formerly the head of a design company, the artist quit his day-job and sold the company four years ago in order to create detritus-amassed art.

Gilles Cenazandotti Black Panther.

“I imagine this universe in my sculptures, of the cities moving to what is necessary to the survival of the men. What will it occur when the tide will overflow of our rejected products? When will pollution touch so many species that life will be decreased? This science fiction is near where one already sees the animals changing territory. One can wonder what they will become, like so many already disappeared species, if they do not find any more spaces to live.”

Gilles Cenazandotti Baboon, 2015.

Gilles Cenazandotti, Briquets Triptych , 2016. 47.25 x 11 inches each. Lighters Found from the Sea on Altuglass.

Remarkable work, and work with a very strong message. We need to stop being unthinking apes and be mindful humans. All of the work is deeply poignant, but it’s the lighters that get to me. FFS, is it that much to expect people to not treat our oceans like a convenient trash can?

Gilles Cenazandotti at Contessa Gallery.

Via The Creators Project.