Plastic Bag Museum
In 2020 Katrina Cobain began The Plastic Bag Museum, an online performative museum highlighting the social and design history of carrier bags, while exploring plastic’s material qualities and the existential threat that they present. This artwork led to correspondence with collectors all over the globe, and an ever expanding collection of bags and related ephemera, while uncovering the meaning we place on objects, even if they are deemed to be trash.
During Coventry Biennial 2025, Cobain presented a Coventry specific exhibition of The Plastic Bag Museum. Not only is this immersive installation closely related to the memories and experiences of local people, it represents the first full scale physical presentation of what Cobain describes as the institution under your sink.
This exhibition was generously supported by Arts Council England and Coventry University. All documentary photographs below by Marcin Sz.
