Sunday, April 22nd, 2012-Sunday, June 24th, 2012
Curator: Lizzie Zucker Saltz | Assistant Curator: Katie Faulkner
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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)
Marianna Popp (Athens, GA)
Paula Reynaldi (Athens, GA/Argentina)
Noah Saunders (Athens, GA)
The Story of Stuff Project (Berkeley, CA)
Jill Townsley (London, England)