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.
A US citizen of Iraqi origin, Nissan said she be-came 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.—AFP