>WASTEWORK, curated by Ian Dawson, The Winchester Gallery, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, 6th March –15th April 2023
Participating Artists : John Walter, Donna Mitchell, Jasone Miranda Bilbao, Compound 13 Lab, Ian Dawson, Aqui Thami, Louisa Minkin, Sharmila Samant, Migueltzinta Solis,, Andrea Mason, Ben Parry, Amanda Jobson, Marie-Louise Jones, Erika Trotzig, Jefford Horrigan, Mario Rossi, Mia Taylor, Stephen Cornford, Ali Eales and the Trinity Art Group
>WASTEWORK, curated by Ian Dawson, The Winchester Gallery, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, 6th March –15th April 2023
Participating Artists : John Walter, Donna Mitchell, Jasone Miranda Bilbao, Compound 13 Lab, Ian Dawson, Aqui Thami, Louisa Minkin, Sharmila Samant, Migueltzinta Solis,, Andrea Mason, Ben Parry, Amanda Jobson, Marie-Louise Jones, Erika Trotzig, Jefford Horrigan, Mario Rossi, Mia Taylor, Stephen Cornford, Ali Eales and the Trinity Art Group, Dave Gibbons
WASTEWORK is the third and final iteration of an exhibition which began as The Waste Makers on Cornucopia Street at Newhaven ArtSpace in 2022 before travelling to The Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins, London. All three exhibitions explore waste and how we might interpret, rework and re-examine it. How do we arrive at waste? Is it matter out of place? What is the difference between dirt and waste? And what might digital waste be? Focusing on restoration and rehabilitation the show presents diverse artworks from North America, India and the UK, representing the globalised nature of waste. The work from Compound 13 lab, for example, has been made inside the informal settlement of Dharavi, Mumbai, which recycles 80% of Mumbai's plastic. Curated by Ian Dawson, the exhibition continues to accrue new works and takes on new configurations in each space exploring how longstanding artistic practices such as collage and assemblage can glean new perspectives on waste-studies and the politics of disposability.
WASTEWORK became a fulcrum for a series of events and workshops. The exhibition hosted a series of workshops by Ali Eales and The Trinity Art Group, who created works in response to the artists in the show; installing their own works in a set of weekly 'takeovers' of the show. Dr. Ben Parry and Professor Graham Jeffrey, founders of the Compound 13 Lab, and Marie-Louise Jones delivered talks to the Sustainability Forum which launched on the opening day of the exhibition. Winchester School of Art Student's led by Departmental Head Louise Siddens created a series of works which were also spliced into the exhibition during its tenure in the Gallery. The exhibition closed with a 3-Day 'Playing with Climate Crisis' Games event which launched Daybreak, a cooperative board game co-designed by Matt Leacock, the creator of Pandemic, and Matteo Menapace. With contributions by Paul Wake and Chloe Germaine (Carbon City Zero, Hacking ECO-games), Laurie Blake (Earth Rising), Sabine Harrer (Kyoto), Heiko Günther and Tobias Gohrbandt (Peak Oil, Peak Oil Profiteer), Hwa Young Jung (PTown Bay MMXXX) and Sam Levac-Levey (Solutions)
The exhibition was hosted by Winchester School of Art's Materials Lab.
>Ian Dawson