Last night was also the mid-show private view of Microcosm in Leeds which I’m exhibiting in with Elastic Band.
Departure Foundation (also producing HOARD) have secured a huge office space in Leeds Valley Park where Microcosm is taking place 14 June – 31 August 2012.
http://www.departurefoundation.com/Exhibitions%20M…
Whilst few of the works on display directly or overtly deal with the notion of rubbish, there were a couple of pieces using throw-away/discarded/found materials and drawing attention to the life-span of objects and materials.
Fiona Long’s Microcosm was probably the most obviously rubbish-related work featuring Haribo Starmix packets pinned to a board in a constellation-like composition.
Marcus Orlandi’s wood used in Deserted (HELP) is not labelled as found or reused but my suspicion from the wood’s condition is it’s been salvaged from desertion, possibly from a skip or a house renovation. They look like old floorboards and I’m keen to know more about their history.
Lesley Guy’s Transformations are composed of oil and pencil on newspaper, newspaper and a paper coffee cup, and newspaper and a toilet roll middle. The objects look to have been considerately selected for the images portrayed in the temporal medium and for their specific sculptural form. These materials are from the everyday world of the consumer society and throwaway culture, now elevated to the status of art through precise and attentive transformations.
Steve Hine’s Prosthetic is labelled as a found table with chrome plated tube, caster and fitting. Likely to have been a skip find thrown away due to damage beyond functionality, Steve has rescued and restored this piece of unfashionable furniture. Unlike traditional furniture restoration where repair is designed to be as unnoticeable as possible, Steve has fashioned another contrasting table leg, matching in height, to form an anthropomorphised prosthetic limb for this elderly and neglected piece of furniture.
