Upcycle …dreaming it out of the waste stream

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012-Sunday, June 24th, 2012

Curator: Lizzie Zucker Saltz | Assistant Curator: Katie Faulkner

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Featured Artist – Reid McCallister: Bird with Tractor (After Braque) (2012), construction debris
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David Hamlow: Detail of Pulse, (1998-2012), mylar snack bags

Upcyling is distinct from recycling in that no energy is expended returning materials to a raw form to be used in the production of new objects; existing products are rescued from the waste stream to  find new life as marketable products or fine art objects through creative re-use.

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Joni Younkins-Herzog, Pollen Count, upcycled Tempur-pedic and urethane foam, vinyl, filament

Upcyling focuses on finding use for production waste that cannot be recycled easily or at all, such as styrofoam serving containers, ziplock bags, soda straws, bottle caps, milk & juice containers pop-tabs and caps, toothpaste caps and tubes, plastic cutlery, mesh produce bags, video & audiotape, and electronic components such as circuit boards.

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Jamison Edgar, Title TBA (2012)
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Two views of Jourdan Joly’s Mountain Goat Mountain (2012), upcycled styrofoam cups, insulation foam rescued from refuse, paint, resin, plaster, steel, steel.

By saving these materials from their usual destiny as landfill fodder these artists help reduce landfill methane gases, the expansion of landfills and in the worst case scenario, pollution of the environment by toxins, which results in wildlife genocide, such as sea turtles and birds such as the albatross who die by the thousands every year as a result of ingesting discarded plastics.

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Marianna Popp, Detail, site-specific installation, Transcending Material (2012)

The Upcycle exhibition is ATHICA’s positive response to the zero-waste movement. This movement questions our culture’s addiction to cheap disposable goods and the resultant evil twins of global industry—environmental degradation and municipalities’ struggles to cope with accelerated landfill expansion.

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cap man, Lil Gem (2009- ) 1960s era mini-camper, bottle caps, mixed-media

These memes gave curator Lizzie Zucker Saltz the impetus to put out an artists’ call, garnering the international, national and regional artists in Upcycle. They employ a diverse a range of approaches and materials.

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F. Geoffrey Johnson, Currents II (2011), KOMALU series, upcycled satellite dish, reflector plate, e-waste, paper, plexiglass, metal toy train tracks, memorabilia, acrylic paint, acrylic ink, 48″ x 60″ x 7″

They have been selected for their innovative upcycling of materials we usually regard as trash, transforming them into arenas of contemplation and wonder.

Participating Artists

Featured Artist:

Reid McCallister (Athens, GA)

Other Contributors:

A-CC Recycling Division

Elizabeth Barton (Athens, GA)

cap man (Winterville, GA)

Tiberiu Chelcea (Nashville, TN)

Jamison Edgar (Athens, GA)

Inguna Gremzde (England/Latvia)

David Hamlow (Good Thunder, MN)

F. Geoffrey Johnson (Atlanta, GA)

Jourdan Joly (Athens, GA)

Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful

Diana Lee (Athens, GA)

Doug Makemson (Athens, GA) 

Jay Nackashi (Athens, GA)

Charles Pinckney (Athens, GA)

Marianna Popp (Athens, GA)

Paula Reynaldi (Athens, GA/Argentina)

Noah Saunders (Athens, GA)

The Story of Stuff Project (Berkeley, CA)

Jill Townsley (London, England)

Spoons installation and deinstallaton time lapse video.

Joni Younkins-Herzog (Sarasota, FL)