Repair | Replace

I recently went to an exhibition about reusable materials. It was a take on recycling and keeping things in circulation longer rather than just discarding them, like for example fast fashion which encourages us to buy, buy and buy.

One of the pieces in the show was the Sydney University Notice Board. It hung as is, just as it was taken off the wall. A beautiful example of found art. I found it mesmerising. You could still make out some of the words, from the thousands of of notices that must have hung on it over the years. It sparked an interesting conversation for whoever looked at it. The artist who decided it was art, is Gary Deirmendjian, who titled it “on notice”.

For me it reminded me of my favourite musician. And a line from one of their songs:

“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.”

Pete Seeger

This last piece is by Ra Bull, and is made from old sleeping bags. Titled Zippered. It’s a beautiful sculpture that invited me to reminisce about many nights I have spent sleeping in my numerous adventures. It was cosy and cuddly for me. It was Ra that got me out to this fascinating show. Repair and replace.

Something we should all do a lot more off as we hurtle towards the collapse of natural systems. Every little thing counts.