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©️Von Wong Productions 2025 – Global Plastics Treaty INC 5.2 – The Thinker’s Burden / Le Fardeau du Penseur
Artist Benjamin Von Wong is known for his incredible installations dealing with environmental issues like e-waste and the overabundance of single-use plastic. While these issues are certainly critical to the long-term survival of our planet, his latest installation touches on something that has the potential to wreak havoc on our health: microplastics.
As UN efforts to negotiate an international Plastic Treaty are winding down, Von Wong has made his presence known with a 20-foot-tall sculpture that he’s been adding plastic waste to since July 31. Negotiations have been tough, and at the moment it doesn’t look like leaders are any closer than they were two years ago on creating an agreement. But one thing’s for sure, Von Wong’s The Thinker’s Burden has helped push discourse on the topic.
This remix of Rodin’s famous The Thinker sits in front of Geneva’s Palais des Nations, where talks are being held. As the talks have continued, Von Wong’s sculpture has garnered increasing media attention, placing a spotlight on the issue that may have otherwise gotten lost in the news cycle.
While Von Wong has often tackled the issue of plastic waste, he wasn’t quite prepared to learn the health consequences of our overuse of plastic. Speaking with researchers and discovering the health effects that microplastics can have on us, and even our unborn children, spurred him to action with one of his most dramatic installations yet.
We had a chance to speak with Von Wong about The Thinker’s Burden and what it takes to create this type of large-scale art. Scroll down for our exclusive interview and keep going to the end to see a short, enlightening documentary on how the piece came to fruition.
When did you first hear about microplastics?
I first learned about microplastics years ago, but what really hit me recently was the scale and the invisibility of the problem—especially the toxic chemicals embedded in plastics. Once you understand that they’re not just in the ocean, but in our food, water, air, and even inside us before we’re born, it’s impossible to see the world the same way.
Have you personally changed any of your habits due to the damage microplastics can cause?
I’ve been trying my best to limit any plastics that touch my food, and I’ve switched all my clothing and textiles to natural materials—but it’s almost impossible to avoid. It’s in packaging, in furniture, in the fibers of what we wear. It’s everywhere, which is exactly why I wanted to make it visible through this work.
How did the initial concept for the project come together? And why The Thinker?
The idea began with a challenge: How do you make something invisible, visible? I wanted an image so iconic and human that it would transcend language and culture. Rodin’s The Thinker felt perfect, not just because it’s a timeless symbol of contemplation and human intellect, but because it’s also a piece of colonial European art.
In the same way we’ve inherited a colonial, extractive system of power, we’ve also inherited the responsibility, and the burden, of the damage it has caused. My version of The Thinker carries that weight. He’s holding a helpless baby in his arms, relying on Mother Earth for support, with a giant strand of DNA spiraling around him—a reminder that our decisions today ripple through every generation to come. Over the course of the negotiations, he’s slowly buried in plastic, the literal and metaphorical weight of our inaction pressing down on our shared future.
What was the most surprising health consequence of microplastics that you learned about during this project?
What really stopped me in my tracks was learning about the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastics—things like PFAS—and how many of them are bioaccumulative. That means it’s not just the amount you’re exposed to in a single moment that matters, but the way these toxins build up in your body over time. They interfere with our hormones, metabolism, fertility, and neurological functions in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
And it’s not just about us; these chemicals can cross the placenta, entering the bodies of developing babies, and in some cases pass on their effects epigenetically to future generations. It’s a legacy we’re already handing down, hidden in plain sight.
Your documentary talks about some of the hurdles in creating large-scale artwork like this, such as funding difficulties. Why was it important for you to share this?
Because the art world often shows you the final, polished work—the perfect photograph, the breathtaking installation—without revealing the messy reality of getting there. But these pieces don’t just materialize out of thin air. They take teams, months of planning, complex logistics… and yes, money.
Artists, especially those working in activism, are so often the first to be asked to contribute for free—to show work at a gala, create something for a nonprofit, add beauty to an event “for the cause.” And while I’m glad when my work can help others advance their missions, the reality is: these projects only happen because people step in to support them.
We live in a capitalist world. Ambitious, logistically heavy projects like this one require real resources to pull off. Unless more people start showing up with funding to support art as a tool for change, it simply can’t happen. There’s a direct connection between money and creation — and yet, in our culture, there’s often this unspoken assumption that someone else will step in to fund it. This time, I was lucky. People showed up. But if that happens less and less, one day one of these projects will be the last.
Part of why I share the struggle is not just to be transparent, but to gently invite people to be part of making the next piece possible. Because the truth is, when the support is there, the art can be too.
What drives you to keep going in the face of these challenges?
Two things: the urgency of the issues, and the people I meet along the way. Every time I think about slowing down, I remember the communities already living with the consequences of pollution and environmental degradation. They can’t opt out, so neither can I. And I’ve learned that when you bring people together to create something meaningful, the process itself can be as transformative as the final piece.
How do you feel about the final work and how it was received by the public?
I’m proud of it, not just because of how it looked, but because of how it lived in that space. Every day during the negotiations, it changed. Every day, people saw the burden growing. Some stopped to take selfies; others stayed for long conversations about the treaty. It became a gathering point, a conversation starter, and I think that’s the highest purpose art can serve in a public space.
We haven’t finished the tally yet, but so far, there have been over a thousand articles generating more than 1.97 billion impressions in mainstream press alone. While I can’t practically track what direct change it’s made, it’s definitely become a symbol of the INC 5.2 Global Plastic Treaty negotiations. What it ultimately ends up representing is still an open question, but I suppose we’ll find out together.
What can people do to encourage the Plastics Treaty negotiations?
This is a hard one, because there’s no single “right” way to get involved. The most important thing is to show up and pay attention, rather than tuning out or running away from the problem. Follow what’s happening. Support the academics, scientists, and journalists who are digging into the facts. Back the organizations pushing for an ambitious treaty. And most importantly, talk about it—with your friends, your family, your communities.
It still blows my mind how few people even know there’s a global plastics treaty in the works. I get it—the world feels overwhelming right now—but this is one of the most important environmental negotiations of our lifetime. And for me, the highest-leverage point is toxicity. That’s what will move the needle. When people realize that human health is at stake, that these chemicals can disrupt hormones, harm fertility, affect brain development, and build up in our bodies over time—it changes the conversation completely. Recycling doesn’t work if you’re just recycling toxic chemicals.
The health angle has the power to unite people across the political spectrum, because it’s not just about “the environment” in some distant future—it’s about our bodies, our kids, our communities, right now. So my message? Get involved, however you can. We need all hands on deck to make sure this treaty delivers what the world desperately needs.
Watch this short documentary to see how the environmental installation came to life.
Benjamin Von Wong: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Benjamin Von Wong.
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