In this Interlude, we juxtapose images that circulated around the production of plastics, petroleum and chemicals during the 1950s and 1960s, in connection with new dreams of progress. With a focus on companies and chemicals linked with the UK and US, we have chosen images that connect histories and geographies of war, imperialism, and race, with ideologies of progress, hygiene and the countryside. Alongside these visual stories we place records of protests that erupted – often decades later, when toxic effects on bodies and landscapes had become clearer – in relation to hidden aspects of these same images. The toxic effects of waste incineration in the making of plastics; the effect of Agent Orange – the chemical used in new weapons during the Vietnam War – in the soil on bodies; the effects of DDT on ecologies; the effects of war on communities: new forms of aesthetics emerge to denounce such effects and render them perceptible to a global audience.

DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly known as DuPont, was founded as a gunpowder manufacturer in 1802 by E.I. Du Pont. Before merging with Dow Chemical in 2017, DuPont was the world's largest chemical company in terms of sales.

Cellophane was invented in 1912 but became widespread after DuPont developed a moisture-proof version in 1927. In the 1950s, DuPont grew their business through the mass production of Cellophane and another well-known synthetic material: Teflon. Both products are built out of a group of at least 4,700 synthetic chemicals called PFAs, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which make surfaces resist stains, water and grease.