In 2012 I walked onto a beach on the North-West coast of Scotland so thick with mounds of litter that I feared drowning in it. Since then I have surveyed and mapped litter on over a hundred beaches. I have collected thousands of samples and created exhibitions & events which have engaged local communities & highlighted the nature & volume of plastic pollution.

Plastic is a wonderful, extremely useful material that is widely used, but our overuse & careless disposal is creating massive environmental problems for marine life and causes the death of many thousands of fish, birds & mammals.

It is estimated that 13 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans every year and that by 2050 there will be more pieces of plastic than fish in the sea.

Every piece of plastic that appears on our beaches embodies energy. Embodied Energy is the energy that is consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of the plastic.

I am convinced that art can make a difference!

I want to make a series of sculptures from plastic beach litter to help highlight how beach litter is wasting finite oil & gas resources. I intend to make multiple large CUBES using plastic beach litter.

I will encourage people to help me weigh the CUBES, to calculate how many litres of petrol each #LitterCUBE represents & costs.

The #LitterCUBES will be made around Scotland on shorelines, harbours, in schools, arts centres & museums.

The #LitterCUBES will be simple, but intricately made, from plastic bottles, box strapping, cotton bud sticks, prawn boxes, mussel pegs & plastic fibres from all the waste we find in the ocean. The CUBES will act as visual triggers - prompting people to ask:

What’s it made from?

How did it get into our seas and beaches?

Why does it matter and how can we do to stop it getting there?

What can you do?

You can invest in Julia Barton to create a series of these #LitterCUBEs to weigh up the true cost of plastic pollution on our beaches. We need to raise £2,000 as soon as possible through Justgiving.com to kick start the project.

You can reduce your use of single use plastic, stop it escaping into the environment and help collect it from our beaches, waterways, seas, streets & land.

You can suggest places where the #LitterCUBES can be made or shown around Scotland - festivals, museums, harbours, schools, arts centres - wherever you think the impact will be greatest.

How can you invest?

Make a donation NOW of any amount.

All donations will receive an acknowledgement & a special reward.

Donations of £200 or more will receive a limited edition plastic fibre #LitterCUBE after the showing of the work.

Support for the project

Partnerships have been formed with key environmental organisations including the Marine Conservation Society; Shetland Amenity Trust; KIMO Fishing for Litter; FIDRA & Dynamic Earth.

Arts organisations involved in the project are An Talla Solais; Shetland Museum; North Light Arts & Eyemouth Hippodrome

The Littoral Art Project has the support of 31 MSPs including Joan McAlpine MSP, Rachel Hamilton MSP & Claudia Beamish MSP.

Project achievements to date

2018 Presentation at Re-thinking Industrial Materials Symposium, Sunderland University

2017 Scottish Parliament: #CleanBeachesScotland Exhibition in partnership with Marine Conservation Society where 31 MSPs pledged support to anti-litter actions. An event that was well over subscribed, with attendees including MSPs, environmental organisations, researchers, harbour masters and activists.

2017 Shetland Environmental Award 2016-17 for Littoral Art Project educational work across Shetland

2017-16 Exhibitions in Shetland and the NW Highlands: NEO Terra multi-media interactive exhibition had over 8,000 visitors. View audience comments on line.

2016 Published a Guide to Beach Litter

2016 Presentations at the University of Edinburgh & Southampton University

2015 Awarded a Creative Scotland open grant award to make the NEO Terra exhibitions

2014 World Environment Day: Experiential Public Event Towing 100 plastic bottles off a remote beach to a recycling point

2013 Awarded a Creative Scotland open grant award for researching & developing the Littoral Art Project