The Sustainabilitree Show

About

Curated by Melanie Warner, after whose own biodegradeable sculpture the show is named; this diverse collection of media from emerging British Artists aims to inspire and provoke debate around issues of sustainability and the environment. From the spectral and elegant 'World on Stilts' by Helen Edling to the absorbing abstract beauty of Billy Style's ice paintings these exhibits offer a rich feast for thought. Warner has invited all the artists to make inventory of the materials and quantities used in their creation. 'These details fascinate me', she explains' and are part of a conscious attempt from the arts community to take stock of our attitudes to materials and waste'. The 'Sustainabilitree'(2009) itself is made from corn and starch based bioplastic. Standing over 3 metres high it holds 10,000 individually cut leaves. Ghostly objects (cassette tapes, remote controls) visible under the 'bark' hint at the pace of moving technology whilst the bio-based,degradeable polymers offer an optimistic alternative to petro plastics and landfill future for such objects. Necessarily impermanent the tree has already dropped leaves which visibly compost at its base and indicate the work's eventual complete disintegration and re-absorption into the soil. Demonstrating an imaginative end use Ally Rosenberg's startlingly engaging busts 'Chewing Gum Woman' and 'Teabag Man' are formed from - as you can probably guess from their titles, used chewing gum and teabags. A case here no doubt of 'where there's muck there's brass'.