Waste and Worth

This project was a participatory installation featuring objects I collected at the tip. The objects were scattered across the floor to mimic my experience of collecting them.  On the walls there were three shelves labelled ‘valuable’ ‘not valuable’ and ‘functional’.  I invited the MFA class to engage with the work by categorising the objects according to their perceived value.

The installation explored whether we choose objects or objects choose us, whether they retain traces of use, and whether value emerges through an encounter with the viewer.

The audience experienced decision-making as a pressured experience. They reported feeling multiple layers of tension and a strong sense of accountability. They were concerned whether others would deem their placement on the shelves ‘correct.’

Participants described strong sensory connections with the objects, reflecting on their histories of use and the hands that had held them. They chose objects according to usefulness, hidden value and personal memories, feeling a sense of fondness for particular objects.