Cole Swanson, Exhibitions & Residency Program Coordinator

Image credit: Chris Laycock, Fold Furniture, recycled denim, 2010 - Living Arts Centre Gallery

The LAC Gallery is currently playing host to an eclectic mix of artworks by the Uprising Collective. This emerging group of artists and designers have been fascinated by the histories of the objects around us, from furniture that has outlived a century, to designer jeans only fit to be worn for one season. The temporal nature of modern day objects has inspired these artists to create works that give outdated materials a second life.

In the popular webisodes of the same name, The Story of Stuff Project with host Annie Leonard gives viewers an interactive tour through the production, consumption and eventual disposal of the “stuff” that surrounds us. As an extension of this idea, our current exhibition proposes that while new products might have a short-lived utilitarian value, they may also possess aesthetic and formalist properties worth further consideration.

The interactive nature of both the online and in-gallery projects is an engaging way to connect with the material world. To find out more about the online Story of Stuff Project, see www.storyofstuff.com. For information on the Uprising Collective and our current gallery exhibition, visit www.livingartscentre.ca/gallery_residency/exhibitions/current.php.