Waste and Worth

Waste and Worth was a participatory installation of my found objects collected at the tip. I invited the MFA class to engage with the work by categorising the found objects according to their perceived value.

Participants were asked to:

• Read the instructions carefully
• Pause and observe the objects
• Choose objects one at a time
• Place them on the appropriate shelf (valuable, functional, useless)
• Rearrange objects as they wished
• Repeat the process

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. 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.