a question of worth

About

susan carron clarke secretive worth the everyday objects we encounter daily might seem of little importance, yet they are an intricate part of the world around us. my work is an attempt to negotiate the unseen aspects of these everyday things, through exploring the role they play in our personal stories. the red coloured chords that spill from the objects can be seen as symbolising the human lives with which they intertwine. these visible connections represent the unseen traces of the object's working life - the conversations we share over cups of tea, or the debris of our lives absorbed by the humble hoover. imagine the secrets and drama everyday objects have silently witnessed. these everyday things may seem worthless at first glance, but on reflection we can see how they add value to our experience of the world around us. why are useful objects worth less than otherwise useless objects of beauty? bungle brown cheap meat 39 days shows in detail the growth a chicken from hatching to age 39 days, at which point it would be slaughtered if raised on an intensive farm. by witnessing the bird from birth, a sympathetic bond is implied and it is presented as a sentient being, not simply a source of meat. the contrast between the chicken's developing personality and the final image of its body prepared for consumption enhances shock. the singular portraits entitled 'best in show' are part of a supplementary project photographing expensive show chickens, celebrating their beauty, it asks the question, why are the lives of these birds more significant than the intensively raised birds?