I am really excited that this Waste Not exhibition by Chinese Artist Song Dong has finally come to the UK. I’ve read lots about it because it’s been on a world tour for a couple of years and I keep finding Song Dong’s thought provoking work in exhibitions like the Venice Biennale and even in Selfridges window and I always like it.
This exhibition, in the Barbican Curve space, features all the ‘stuff’ his mum collected during her lifetime in China. Being part of the Cultural Revolution she was taught to never throw anything away, which has resulted in a room full of ordinary household things, piled up neatly and with a degree of edited curation that gives it a strangely powerful mundane-ness. From empty toothpaste tubes to old chairs, the piles resonate with ordinary family memories and it gives me hope that the boxes of junk in the garage may yet have a purpose to serve….
The exhibition is on at the Barbican from 15th Feb through to 12th June, If you are a clutterer, it might be worth a visit.
Images by Oli Scarff/Getty Images from AvazNews
I think there are some members of my family that could hold their own exhibition, and quite possibly better it!
If this is what someone collected during the Cultural Revolution in China, I’m loathe to see what I have collected in the 21st century U. S.
Yikes!
This definitely sounds like one for the Obsessionistas. I think Francesca mentioned it in a post she wrote for us a while back so it’s great to hear that its now on in the UK.
Helen , yes it’s the same one, Francesca and I are both fans and it’s definitely one for Obsessionistas, perhaps you could get him to do a special edit for you? A