Talking Rubbish ?
I have been re-recycling junk most of my life,making things from the junk people throw away.
I am often asked why & how I work with this redundant debris?
The honest answer is ,as I am a member of a consumer culture,I find myself constantly surrounded by junk. It,s always close to hand, readily available,&above all, FREE!
Junk is a medium,like stone,clay,wood,paint, or the printed word,or the dancing pixels on this screen.Like all other media, junk has particular qualities & character.
SERIOUS RUBBISH ?
In classic crime stories,detectives search dustbins for clues .
Archeologists rummage through rubbish tips,piecing together vanished civilisations, from pottery shards.
It would seem that the things that we throw away, say as much about us as the things we aspire to possess?
When things are discarded,they no longer serve the purpose that they were designed for.Time has transformed the practical into the useless, and things are free for re-cycling & a new incarnation ?
Working like some future archeologist,I speculate on the functions, sacred or profane,of the artefacts I have collected, I discover new identities,practical or ritualised,exploring what these items might have to say about our past, the world we live in,and perhaps, our future ?
Or is this talking serious rubbish ?
above;”TAILIGHT WARRIOR” collection, Manchester City Art Gallery
below; “Heat in Africa” collection Falmouth Museum &Art Gallery
