GULFPORT, Miss.—During the 10 years Dr. Kristina Mojica lived in Hawaii pursuing degrees in marine biology, she loved to surf the windward side of Oahu. On clear, sunny days there was nothing better than feeling the salty water brush her skin and the ocean lift her board as she cruised the waves into shore and felt the warm sand beneath her feet. But, when she looked closer at the sand, she realized that it wasn’t just sand, but rather millions of pieces of microplastics littering the shoreline.
“There was more plastic in the sand than there was sand, and there was no way to clean it up,” Mojica said.
Mojica, who now serves as an associate professor in marine science in the School of Ocean Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach, Mississippi, conducts research on how microplastic and nanoplastic pollution is affecting the environment and human health.
As a scientist and an artist, she wanted to find a way to express her research on plastic pollution in a way that “pulls from the emotions” and motivates others to effect change, a goal that inspired her to conceive of “Toxic Beauty: Plastic’s Hidden Cost,” an art exhibit at the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, that debuted on Earth Day, April 22, to coincide with its environmental message.
Currently on display until Sept. 7, the exhibit consists of sculptures and other artworks that local artists and students created entirely from pieces of plastic and other pollutants collected during beach cleanups across the Gulf Coast.
“A lot of people aren’t getting inspired by just telling them the importance of the dangers of plastic,” Mojica said. “The idea was, ‘Can we show them sea creatures that are the plastic?’ and ‘Can we elicit some kind of emotion out of that that inspires them to make a change?’”
‘Ambassadors for Ecosystems’
Rachel Lancaster, a marine science doctoral student who worked with Mojica on the initiative, said a few hundred volunteers participated in eight days of cleanup over the course of a year. The volunteers pulled trash from beaches in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, all the way to the Pearl River and collected more than 3,000 pounds of debris along the Gulf Coast to support the project.
She hopes the project can “impact perceptions of plastic pollution,” not only as a danger to the environment but also as a health concern to society.
Lancaster said that as a previous high-school teacher, she was excited to facilitate collaboration with more than 40 art students at Ocean Springs and Long Beach high schools who produced more than 60 pieces for the exhibit.
One artwork Lancaster highlighted was a wall of manta rays made entirely from plastic pollution found on the Gulf Coast’s beaches.
Lancaster said the wall began with one student who created a ray that is now displayed on the wall as “OG Manta Ray.” She said other students loved the idea and wanted to collaborate, which eventually led to the creation of an entire wall of manta rays all made entirely from repurposed trash.
Nicole Martz, the director of sales and marketing at the Mississippi Aquarium, said the display with the art of plastic rays is intentionally placed next to the touch pool where visitors to the aquarium can pet real, live stingrays.
“People can make that association and want to be more of an advocate because they’ve had that hands-on experience and made that connection with the animal,” Martz explained.
Mojica said the exhibit features questions posted throughout that prompt viewers to take a closer look at the art and the materials used to construct them. She said she hopes the signs inspire people to connect with the art on a personal level by recognizing products they use, perhaps even prompting some to ask themselves, “Did I leave that on the beach?”
When visitors are able to identify the materials used to make the art as items that they use every day, it inspires them to be more aware of how pollution can harm the ocean, Martz proposed.
“We think it empowers them and provides that connection and makes them want to be ambassadors for ecosystems,” she said.
‘This Is the Entire Southeast’s Trash’
Cigarettes, bottle caps and styrofoam were the most common materials they found during cleanups and used to create the artworks, Lancaster said.
She created a Pac-Man display for the “Toxic Beauty” exhibit constructed from a variety of pollutants including cigarettes, beads, and other plastics—arranged as a replica of a Pac-Man maze. To the right of the maze are the four ghosts known to chase Pac-Man in the classic arcade game, with each ghost being made from a different type of plastic.
While visitors are not allowed to touch most art on display, her work is unique because it is designed to be tactile so that visitors to the museum can interact with the piece, she said.
One of the largest displays in the exhibit is a collection of sea turtles that were constructed entirely from Mardi Gras beads collected during the beach cleanups alongside jellyfish made from plastic bags. Mojica said sea turtles have an extremely difficult time distinguishing plastic bags from jellyfish, which are a major food source for them.
“More than 52% of all sea turtles in nature have plastic bags in their stomachs,” Mojica said.
The Mississippi Sound is also home to the world’s most endangered sea turtle, the Kemp’s ridley. Martz said the aquarium does rehabilitation and release programs to protect the species.
“At least 1,000 sea turtles die each year because of our plastic waste and the ocean,” Mojica said. “One of the biggest impacts we can have on trying to preserve the species is being more aware of where our trash is going and what kind of trash we’re creating.”
Martz said the Mississippi Aquarium also does an annual Mardi Gras recycling campaign where people can drop off trash and hosts community beach cleanups. The trash they collected “is not just coming from Mississippi,” Lancaster said, as more than 20 states are dumping plastic and other pollution into the Mississippi River. The aquarium’s next volunteer cleanup is scheduled for Aug. 29, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Jones Park in Gulfport.
The doctoral student hopes the exhibit inspires people to “have a voice” and talk to policymakers about reducing pollution.
“This is the entire southeast’s trash,” Lancaster said. “There should be more regulations not just in Mississippi, but in the surrounding states as well.”
Mojica said she hopes the “Toxic Beauty” exhibit sends the message that it’s going to take a “collective effort” to save our oceans and coastal ecosystems.
“It has to be every individual in every state and every nation working together to address this problem,” Mojica said. “We all share the same ocean. We’re all eating from that ocean. We’re all drinking from different water sources—and so this is affecting us.”
“Toxic Beauty: Plastic’s Hidden Cost” will be on view through Sept. 7, 2026, at the Mississippi Aquarium (2100 E. Beach Blvd., Gulfport). General admission is $29.95 when ordered online 24 hours or more in advance and is $34.95 when bought online the day of or when bought at the gate in person. Discounts are afforded to children, seniors, and to active and retired military members with ID. Buy tickets online here.
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