Using waste to warn of waste

In Danielle O’Malley’s show “Sink or Swim,’’ at Boston Sculptors Gallery through Jan. 10.

The gallery says (here in slightly edited form) that the show “addresses the role of humans in the environmental crisis through a installation composed of hand-built earthenware and up-cycled waste materials collected throughout New England. Nautical buoys, traditionally used as warning beacons or navigational tools, become anthropomorphized industrial objects, warning the viewer about the perils of abuse of the natural world, as well as forcing awareness of their movements as they navigate through the installation. The marriage of these materials is a metaphor for the complexity of humanity’s role in the climate emergency, as well as the potential for society and nature to successfully collaborate and cohabitate. While acknowledging the gravity of the current situation, ‘Sink or Swim’ also offers hope. It is not too late for us to turn to sustainable lifestyles and let the earth to regain its health.’’