Talking Trash – solo exhibition and public lecture

Exhibition period: 19th July 2019 to 2nd August 2019
Opening reception and public lecture: 27th July 2019, 2pm
Venue: Artopia Art Space, 156-5 Bo’ai Street, Hualien, Taiwan

Talking Trash was a project created during my art residency period with Artopia Art Space, Hualien, Taiwan. Graduating with a BA in Chinese and Development Studies, then with an MFA in Art and Design, I explored the concept of trash from an international development as well as an artistic angle, merging together two areas I feel passionate about. The project culminated in an exhibition and a public lecture, where members of the public joined me in a relaxed environment, and listened to how, through my artwork, I sought to breathe new life into an issue that causes both contention and indifference.

The large scale sculpture Don’t Cry Over Spilt Bubble Tea was a play on the phrase, not crying over spilt milk. Bubble tea is a drink ubiquitous in Taiwan and now all over the world, and its plastic cup and straw an essential companion to the drink itself. However, consumption of this made me think about the amount of waste that we create with our use of one-time use throwaway plastics, and if we don’t do something about it now, we will be lamenting over the damage this causes to our health and environment in the future, by which time our tears will be too late. I collaborated with a plastics recycling company called Taiwanderful, and all the materials I used to make the sculpture were sourced from waste materials found on the beaches of eastern Taiwan, as well as from the households of friends.