PechaKucha x Chol Theatre at The Media Centre, Huddersfield, 29/11/12
I was invited to present at this PechaKucha event organised by Chol Theatre in Huddersfield. I took the opportunity to present some recent rubbish research and presented 20 artists’ work under the headings of Crap, Debris, Detritus, Dirt, Discards, Garbage, Junk, Leftovers, Litter, Mongo, Refuse, Rejects, Remains, Rubbish, Ruins, Scrap, Shit, Shreds, Trash and Waste.
Slides 1-5
Discards: Richard Wentworth – Questions of Taste (1997)
In Questions of Taste, Richard Wentworth juxtaposed ancient Egyptian drinking vessels from the British Museum’s collection with various modern drinks containers he found discarded around the museum.
Trash: HA Schult – Trash People (1996)
HA Schult’s installation Trash People is one thousand life size figures made from crushed cans, electronic waste and other refuse from human consumption.
Debris: Maarten Vanden Eynde – Plastic Reef (2008-12)
In 2008 Maarten Vanden Eynde learned that there was a ‘floating landfill’ about the size of the US, made up of plastic debris, swirling in the Pacific Ocean. He visited this location to collect several hundred kilos of this floating waste, which he then transported to his studio and melted down to create Plastic Reef.
Dirt: Allan Kaprow – Trading Dirt (1982-5)
Allan Kaprow spoke of the origins of Trading Dirt: “I woke up one day and had an idea. I would dig a bucket of dirt from the garden, and I’d put the bucket of dirt and a shovel in my truck. On some future day, I’d trade my dirt for someone else’s dirt.” He later exchanged it with a bucket of dirt from underneath the teacher’s chair at the Buddhist Zen Center in San Diego.
Shit: Piero Manzoni – Artist’s Shit (1961)
In May 1961, while he was living in Milan, Piero Manzoni produced 90 numbered cans of Artist’s Shit. A label on each can identified the contents as: “Artist’s Shit”, contents 30gr net freshly preserved, produced and tinned in May 1961.
