Drawing Trash

Hall, Kimberly Ellen ORCID: 0000-0002-5544-8764 (2023) Drawing Trash. Colouring In "The Past" (3). pp. 87-88.

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Abstract

Drawing can be a useful tool in changing how we think about our stuff, and by drawing the objects we own and those we see, we can reconsider the value of objects in everyday life. Drawing can also be a tool to create time with the objects that are drawn. Pre-pandemic, I had a residency at RAIR in Philadelphia, PA where I drew objects from the trash and created a collection of hand screen-printed wallpaper tiles based on the objects I found. The wallpaper collection was inspired by the lives I found sifting through the things people throw away. The items found were often recognizably from one person, and represented strange and sometimes deeply personal artifacts of a life. The objects selected were not meant to communicate who that particular person was, but rather to give a glimpse into who each of us might be based on the things we leave behind. By drawing the discarded bits of everyday life the intention was to bring them back into the home (as wallpaper) and to reconsider what should be kept or lost and how the objects we select for our houses makes them home. In this paper, I’ll reflect on the outcomes of the project, both accomplished and missed, as well as propose new directions that the work will be taking going forward. Outcomes include connecting what is happening in recycling and landfills with the way we have preserved household items in museum settings; exploring the case that some old family objects in basements have the power to change history as we know it; and how all of us face a similar dilemma as historic institutions: the need and interest of preserving decorative objects and papers with the lack of resources to do so. How much stuff is too much stuff? Can we use drawing as a tool to respond to these areas of inquiry?

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Creative Practice and Theory
Depositing User:	Kimberly Hall
Date Deposited:	14 May 2024 16:08
Last Modified:	20 May 2024 15:15
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/14050

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