What a lovely load of old rubbish.
The art world is full of objects reviewed, by more renowned reviewers than myself, as rubbish.
Many have since come to be respected as high concept art, Duchamp’s Fountain, a most famous example while smashed and rusting cars are commonly installed as art, in gardens and galleries.
More recently artists such as H A Schult continue the Pop Art tradition making art from waste as a critique of consumerism.
So, it is a pleasure to find art generated from similar material at the cosy Lovett Galley.
This exhibition from the artists Scrapture and Linskin is of a similar high concept but is more rescued than found.
Art is constructed from objects thrown away as broken or faulty, or simply out of date.
Linskin’s work, being papier-mâché figures of slightly surreal appearance, may even include past copies of this very news sheet in their body.
Scrapture’s work is more hard edged sculpture, with a slight punk aesthetic, consisting of broken tools and machinery parts destined for landfill without a second glance, or objects that in the convention of real country folk would clutter old sheds with the thought that “it might be useful one day.”
Sadly, we live in an increasingly throwaway world, even down here in the Huon Valley.
Take your chainsaw, generator or mower back to the dealer for repair and you’ll likely be told to send it to landfill and buy a shiny new one.
The artist Scrapture has been applying her imagination to such objects for many years, in a long campaign to reduce landfill and brings disparate objects or parts of objects together to create fascinating objet d’art.
From flexible corrugated hoses to buckled propellers, from bass amplifier cases to what appear to be circuit boards, all are given a new lease of life as fascinating artworks.
It just requires a different way of looking, to see the parts within the whole, to consider what we expect the earth to swallow and perhaps a rediscovery of the art of repair.
This exhibition resonated with me in many ways and will continue to every six weeks or so, as we wheel our bins down our long driveway and wonder what people fill them with every week and if there are the makings of a potential artwork in that bin.
by David L Hume for the Huon News
Lovett Gallery Cygnet October 2-14
