I’ve been working with discarded materials for about 4 years now. The ‘discarded’ is either rubbish (crisp packets) or unwanted items (an old bamboo blind) I find on the streets around my studio, or on the towpath around my narrowboat, or on rural walks.
I started using these materials as a surface to paint on, then as I became drawn to the materials they became sculptural and I now use them to build installations and as performance props.
It makes sense to me to use these materials directly, when talking about our disconnection to nature and each other.
They are the natural materials around me, found in my habitat. They are the natural waste, amongst the dropped leaves and broken twigs.
I am trying to avoid buying and consuming and I don’t see why it should be any different for my practice.
Using and finding different ways of manipulating each material feels like a kind of poetry. As my relationship with them changes, I return to the material finding different uses for them.
As the process of manipulating discarded materials becomes easier – my dilemma of sourcing and my self discipline around discarded materials becomes stricter.
