From an Elizabethan-style neck ruffle made of discarded face masks to beautiful jewellery made of used coffee pods, Ruth Downes has perfected the craft of wearable art.
Opening on the 9 December at Manly Art Gallery & Museum, her latest touring exhibition, Barely Wearable, explores body adornment for the age of overconsumption.
Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said the artworks were a great reminder of how much we consume and throw away each day.
“What a fantastic exhibition that creatively explores the issue of overconsumption and the potential of upcycling everyday objects,” Mayor Regan said.
“It’s a delightful exhibition, with works that I’m sure many people would proudly wear, while challenging us to think about just how much we actually throw away.”
The 30 wearable artworks were crafted from computer keyboard parts and adaptors, airplane headsets, discarded razor blades, used coffee capsules, disposable face masks, bra underwires, wire springs, beer bottle caps, single use toiletries, cosmetics, pens, garden hose, coat hangers, disposable spoons, lightbulbs, rubber bands and many other everyday items.
Natural items have also been salvaged and crafted into fashionable works including Norfolk Island pine needles, jacaranda needles and eucalyptus pods.
The artist said the exhibition is more than a simple ‘up-cycling’ exercise.
“Each of these items has an intrinsic beauty that is often taken for granted. By reappropriating these materials, I am celebrating that beauty, while questioning our accepted values,” Ms Downes said.
“These items have a preciousness that confounds our expectations irrespective of their humble origins. I am projecting these materials into the real of art to question how we decide what is and isn’t valuable.”
Downes’ work was featured in the 2021 Environmental Art & Design Prize with Masking the problem – an Elizabethan neck ruffle made of disposable face masks, which highlighted the amount of waste created from discarded everyday items. Barely Wearable extends on the theme with Covid-related items incorporated into some works.
Sculptural explorations using everyday materials have been an ongoing obsession as was visible in her previous exhibitions. ‘Tea Party in the Mayoral Garden’ (2001 – 2010) won the inaugural NGA Sculpture Prize ‘People’s Choice Award’ and then toured to New York and Washington, followed by an extensive Australian touring program.
The follow-up exhibition ‘Lunch for the Trades’ (2007 – 2010), was also toured with the assistance of Manly Art Gallery & Museum, and travelled to many regional galleries in NSW and Queensland.
Manly Art Gallery & Museum has a long relationship with the local artist, who was first commissioned to complete a Mondrian-inspired mural in Manly’s Market Lane 20 years ago.
Downes has had a parallel career in design and public art. This has included commissions for site-specific 2D and 3D public artworks.
Barely Wearable
9 December 2022 – 26 February 2023
Manly Art Gallery & Museum
West Esplanade Reserve, Manly
Open Tue – Sun, 10am – 5pm
(closed Mondays & Public Holidays)
Free entry
Exhibition Opening
Fri 9 Dec, 6 – 8pm
