Jordan's Plastic Trash Turned into Art with a Message

Maria Nissan turns plastic waste collected from the streets of Jordan's capital into art in an effort to persuade people against single-use plastics Khalil MAZRAAWI AFP
Maria Nissan turns plastic waste collected from the streets of Jordan's capital into art in an effort to persuade people against single-use plastics Khalil MAZRAAWI AFP
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Jordan's Plastic Trash Turned into Art with a Message

Maria Nissan turns plastic waste collected from the streets of Jordan's capital into art in an effort to persuade people against single-use plastics Khalil MAZRAAWI AFP
Maria Nissan turns plastic waste collected from the streets of Jordan's capital into art in an effort to persuade people against single-use plastics Khalil MAZRAAWI AFP

Jordan-based artist Maria Nissan is on a mission: to rid the world of single-use plastics and to raise public awareness about the environmental scourge through eye-catching art.

One of her best-known murals graces the side of a building in the capital Amman, a giant work made from more than 2,000 plastic bottles, almost 1,000 shopping bags and over 150 hookah pipe hoses, AFP said.

A US citizen of Iraqi origin, Nissan said she became enchanted with Amman when she first visited three years ago, but also felt "frustration and anger" at the piles of garbage on the streets and in areas of natural beauty.

"Despite the beauty of the city, walking its streets can be a journey filled with all kinds of trash," the 35-year-old said.

"My eyes cannot turn away from the abundant shiny plastic bags, glass bottles, soda cans, candy bar wrappers," said Nissan, who occasionally sports a dress made from a sturdy blue Ikea bag.

Trained in painting and drawing in the United States and Italy, Nissan decided to collect and repurpose the trash to create art -- often collages themed on women's faces, flowers and Oriental motifs.

Her home, where she has a rooftop workspace under a large canopy, is filled with every imaginable kind of discarded plastic object, from razors and toothbrushes to lighters, pens and plastic spoons.

"Art made of plastic is a concrete and powerful way to raise concerns on environmental issues that affect Jordanians, their children, their communities and natural environments in the kingdom," she said.

- 'Everybody's problem' -
"A bottle littered in a valley will take up to 450 years to decompose," said Nissan, pointing out that the effect is "micro-plastics polluting the soils, water and the wildlife.

"Because plastics are littered indiscriminately in fields and water, livestock and fish feed themselves indirectly with plastic pieces that we will ultimately find on our plates."

Nissan's work has been exhibited in 12 shows in Jordan as well as in Italy and Greece, and features on her Instagram channel @marianissanart, all with the purpose of changing minds and habits.

Jordanians use three billion plastic bags every year, part of the country's annual solid waste load of 2.2 million tons, of which only seven percent is recycled, according to the UN Development Program.

Nissan urges people to avoid buying plastic products and to go shopping with reusable bags, and also advocates a tax on single-use plastics.

"The consequences of single-use plastic pollution are often delayed, and therefore it is difficult to have people feel accountable and responsible for their own acts," she said.

"Plastic comes back to us in one way or another ... It's nobody's responsibility until it becomes everybody's problem."



Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
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Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)

A historic opera house in Milan has cracked down on patrons and tourists entering the prestigious venue wearing summer attire such as shorts, tank tops and flip flops, warning they will be turned away if not dressed appropriately.

The opera was seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity in 19th-century high society, and the bourgeois elite of this time period would have been expected to turn up in tailcoats, cravats and long evening dresses, The Independent newspaper wrote on Monday.

While this opulent attire is not expected of patrons nowadays, it said Milan’s Teatro alla Scala opera house, commonly known as La Scala, has recently reinforced its smart dress code in the wake of opera-goers turning up in casual summer fashion.

“The public is kindly requested to dress in keeping with the decorum of the theater, out of respect for the theater and for other viewers,” La Scala’s policy said.

“People wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts will not be allowed inside the auditorium; in this case, tickets will not be reimbursed.”

The venue also has signs around the foyer and on tickets stating the same message, warning patrons that they will not get a refund if they turn up wearing clothes not in keeping with the “decorum.”

The rules over informal clothing were first introduced in 2015 when the summer season coincided with the World Expo in Milan, as a way to deter the influx of tourists turning up in summer wear.

“There are no special dress code requirements at La Scala,” a spokesperson at the theater told The Independent. “We are delighted that some of our audience members consider an evening at La Scala to be a special occasion and dress accordingly, but our priority is to welcome everyone and make sure they feel comfortable.

“This is precisely why, in 2015, we introduced restrictions on clothing that could cause discomfort to other audience members who have to share the often limited space of an 18th-century theater.

“With the return of summer (an especially hot one), we reminded the audience of these rules, which have remained unchanged for ten years.

“It would not be right to tell spectators how to dress, but it is necessary that they do dress, as not to cause discomfort to other people,” the spokesperson added.

La Scala’s spokesman added that there had been a “change in behavior led by visitors who do not follow opera but see La Scala as a landmark.”