Junkyard gems make masterpieces
They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but what about a work of art?
Reverse Garbage is putting the question to the test as it litters Darlinghurst’s Burton Street with an array of artworks made entirely from industrial waste
Featured will be a six-foot Styrofoam gorilla angrily beating its chest on top of local cafe Forbes & Burton, which will be showcasing the works along with Tap Gallery and Pocket Bar.
Exhibiting 11 local artists Reverse Garbage on Burton will extend throughout August, encouraging the use of sustainable materials in art.
Artist Aspasia Leonarder, who exhibits under the moniker ‘Miss Death’, said she began experimenting with Styrofoam out of necessity three years ago to fashion affordable props for club nights that she and her husband, Jaimie were hosting.
The gorilla was Leonarder’s fourth attempt at sculpting with Styrofoam, using a kitchen knife to hastily carve out the object just days before a jungle-themed New Year’s Eve party.
“We start with nothing and we just look around, get an idea and then we actually use the resources that are around us,” she said.
Leonarder says she and her husband live a very DIY lifestyle, hosting a weekly show on FBi community radio station that is anything but scripted and conducting a series of cult movie nights across inner city pubs that draw a large youth following.
Leonarder’s cult cinema obsession has also crossed paths with her newfound art practise, and she has also carved out a few famous figures – not to everyone’s satisfaction.
“I did a Charles Manson – which people did not appreciate at all – when he had his swastika days, you know, carved into his forehead.
“That was a bit freaky.”
Other artworks include an Oscar The Grouch-like ‘Glutglut’, by Justin Shoulder, that has made its home in a pile of empty milk bottles, and several portraits crafted out of recycled packaging.
Leonarder says the exhibition poses the tricky questions of what can actually be classified as art.
“Because it’s material that’s been used for something else, and now it’s being reused for art, does that not make it art anymore?
“Is it art when something’s brand new and it’s been specifically made for something? It’s that question of ‘what is art?’.
