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The Blue Flag is among the world’s most recognised voluntary eco-labels awarded to beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. Established by the Foundation for Environmental Education, the Blue Flag Award aims to raise awareness of environmental phenomena and engage people in caring for and learning more about the environment. In 2023, I started collecting small pieces of plastic dispersed in the sand on the beaches of Cyprus to use instead of glass beads and create an embroidered blue flag made of small pieces of plastic. The pieces are collected, cleaned, and sorted by color.
The larger pieces are then cut into small tesserae and later embroidered along with the other ones, with a waxed thread, as if a net were holding them together. The project ultimately highlights the potential of art to transform anything into a creative medium while, at the same time, creating an under layer addressing the current environmental situation—from small coastlines to vast oceans. Along these lines and
traces, I then move toward the seashore.
ph. Nicos Louca