A homemade environmental art exhibition in the Douglas Shire Council main office will be launched tonight. 

Created by Wonga artist Joanna Barstow, the large exhibit features model of a sea turtle surrounded by a multitude of jellyfish constructed from plastic bottles, in addition to mountains of shredded plastic.

The piece is also lit from within by a series of white string lights. 

Sea turtles frequently choke on drifting plastic they mistake for jellyfish, one of their natural food sources.

Ms Barstow said she created the piece to draw attention to the ‘overconsumption and waste’ of plastic and its effect on ocean ecosystems.

“It’s not sustainable in any way, the amount of plastic we are putting into the oceans,” she said. 

“I know there’s plenty of people out there that aren’t littering deliberately but are just being absent minded and letting that bottle fall on the ground or in the water instead of a bin. 

“One person really can make a difference whether they cleaning up or littering themselves.”

Ms Barstow said the project took ‘forever’ to create, especially since her first model sea turtle was destroyed by water damage. 

“He had mushrooms growing in him, it was very sad,” she said with a laugh. 

Ms Barstow was assisted in creating the project by her boss David White, who runs Solar Whisper Wildlife Cruises, and was also given an invaluable helping hand in assembling the exhibit in council’s foyer by then-complete stranger Mark Halstead on Wednesday morning. 

The public are invited to attend the exhibition’s official launch tonight, which will be attended by Ms Barstow.