Artist Denounces Smoking with Recycled Figures on Marina Alta Beaches

Jeane Feitosa uses cardboard and rag dolls to raise awareness about the harms of tobacco and its environmental impact.

Generic image of artistic figures made from recycled materials on a beach.
IA

Generic image of artistic figures made from recycled materials on a beach.

Activist and visual artist Jeane Feitosa has carried out a new artistic intervention on the beaches of Dénia, Xàbia, Calp, and Teulada-Moraira to raise awareness about the harms of smoking and its environmental impact.

To mark the recent World No Tobacco Day, Feitosa presented the third edition of her campaign ‘Ugly Faces Against Smoking’. The action, which uses recycled art, took place at strategic points along the coast of La Marina Alta.
This year's creations include figures made from painted cardboard and recycled rag dolls. Feitosa explains that these figures «are not meant to be pleasing, but to intentionally discomfort», aiming to represent the physical deterioration, loss of health, beauty, and freedom, as well as indifference towards the environment caused by smoking.

"Many took away more than just a photo: a seed of reflection"

Jeane Feitosa · Activist and visual artist
The recycled cardboard figures, named ‘MalRollo’ (Bad Vibe) and ‘Fracaso’ (Failure), aim to reflect the «great lie of tobacco» and criticize the deceptive advertising that, since the 1970s, has sold an idealized image of smoking.
Feitosa also warns about vaping, considering it «the new trap» of the industry, which uses attractive colors and sweet scents to lure new consumers, generating waste that is already appearing on beaches and in parks.
The intervention highlights the environmental impact on the Mediterranean, a closed sea where waste such as cigarette butts, plastics, and vapes accumulate, affecting marine fauna and returning in the form of toxins and diseases.
Finally, Feitosa offers her creations and educational proposal to educational centers in La Marina Alta altruistically, to conduct performances, talks, and workshops that educate younger generations about the harms of tobacco and the importance of health and self-esteem.