What does one month of rubbish look like?

JOSHUA SOFAER

THE RUBBISH COLLECTION

16 June – 14 September 2014

Science Museum, London.

Entrance free. 

Discover the beauty, value and volume of what we throw away.

The Rubbish Collection

Image by Science Museum

From Monday 16 June visitors are invited to participate in the collection, sorting and documenting of one month’s worth of rubbish generated by the Science Museum’s visitors, staff, contractors and exhibition projects to create a growing visual archive of the things we throw away from day to day. During this first phase, rubbish will be diverted through a dedicated exhibition space to be photographed by Sofaer and his team of volunteers, before continuing on its usual journey to be processed for recycling or used to generate electricity.

Tracing the journey of the waste generated by the museum in phase one, phase two sees Sofaer inviting the rubbish back into the museum at different stages of processing for an eight-week exhibition examining the value of what we throw away in relation to what we keep.

With a focus on sustainability and reuse, The Rubbish Collection confronts the materiality of rubbish and highlights that the things we throw away do not disappear but are transformed. Through its elements of participation and visual arts, the exhibition invites visitors to reappraise their relationship with rubbish, while raising questions about ‘better’ or ‘worse’ ways of treating waste.

Artist Joshua Sofaer said: ‘Museums generally display items that have some special status, that are rare, or valuable. But in this project, I want to give the 'museum treatment' to the stuff it would normally throw away. I think it is brave of the Science Museum to allow this project to happen. Actually, I can't quite believe that they have! We will be able to see exactly what a giant museum throws out in an average month and learn something about what happens to it when it leaves the building. It's already been an extraordinary process learning more about the different waste streams. I would urge people to come and get stuck in and open up a bin bag. Remember: disposal is the last resort.’

Sarah Harvey, Project Curator, The Rubbish Collection, said: ‘At the Science Museum we often commission artists to give our visitors fresh and creative perspectives on the subjects we present. The notion of Science Museum visitors sorting through the Museum’s rubbish is in many ways quite absurd but Sofaer is playing with the conventions of what we do as a Museum – our role of collecting, researching and exhibiting precious and important objects – and exposing the intrinsic value and importance of ‘rubbish’ in a creative and unexpected way.  Sofaer’s practice is very collaborative and he encourages the public to participate in the art with the aim of activating and inspiring people to look at things differently; in this case rubbish.’

The Rubbish Collection is part of the Science Museum’s Climate Changing programme – a series of events and exhibitions that support the museum’s Atmosphere gallery. The programme has been made possible by support from Principal Sponsors Shell and Siemens, Major Sponsor Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Major Funder the Garfield Weston Foundation, and with additional support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Patrons of the Science Museum and members of the Founders Circle: Climate Changing programme: Accenture, Bayer and Barclays.

Artist Joshua Sofaer is centrally concerned with modes of collaboration and participation. Often with an irreverent use of humour, he plays with established forms of production, appropriating and reconfiguring the chat show, competition, lecture, or museum display. He acts as curator, producer or director of a broad range of projects, including large-scale events, intimate performances, and publications. He has had teams racing around London gathering rubbish for Scavengers at Tate Modern, built a Rubbish Library in Japan, directed a staging of Bach’s St Matthew Passion in Stockholm and spent 3 months in Brazil working with 'catadores' - human scavengers of rubbish. He was a winner of the first Bank of America CREATE Art Award and was the first Artist Fellow on the 2010/11 Clore Leadership Programme.

The 3D design for The Rubbish Collection is by Nord Architecture.

The Rubbish Collection will run from 16 June to 14 September 2014 at the Science Museum, London. Full details of the exhibition can be found at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/rubbishcollection. 

Notes

The Science Museum’s collections form an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical change from the past. Aiming to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, the Science Museum makes sense of the science that shapes our lives, sparking curiosity, releasing creativity and changing the future by engaging people of all generations and backgrounds in science, engineering, medicine, technology, design and enterprise. The Science Museum Art Collection contains over 8,000 works, including 290 oil paintings, relating to the history of science, technology and medicine from the antique to the contemporary. Now in its 16th year, the Science Museum’s Contemporary Arts Programme commissions artists to respond to the past, present and futures of science and technology through interventions, exhibitions, research and events. Past artists have included Tacita Dean, Dryden Goodwin, Cornelia Parker, Conrad Shawcross and David Shrigley and media art pioneers such as David Rokeby and Mark Hansen & Ben Rubin. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/smap.

The Science Museum is grateful to Grundon Waste Management and Lakeside Energy from Waste for their help and expertise in helping us to realise The Rubbish Collection. Grundon Waste Management is one of the UK's leading suppliers of integrated waste management and environmental solutions, working in partnership with its customers to help them minimise the financial and environmental impacts of their waste. Grundon provide a total waste management solution for the reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal of waste, as well as specialist services such as special events services and facilities and contract management. For more information please visit www.grundon.com. Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) is a joint venture project between two of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management companies – Grundon Waste Management and Viridor. The Lakeside EfW facility at Colnbrook near Slough has been operational since 2010.  Using advanced technology, this plant can process 410,000 tonnes of residual waste per year, generating 37MW of power.  The facility is currently outperforming its design specification. There is an Education Centre adjacent to Lakeside EfW, where schools and other groups can learn about sustainable waste management and energy from waste. For further information visit: www.lakesideefw.co.uk.For education visits email: lakesidevisitors@viridor.co.uk.

Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Duch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges.  Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.com

Siemens plc

Siemens was established in the United Kingdom 170 years ago and now employs 13,760 people in the UK. Last year’s revenues were £3.36 billion*. As the world’s largest engineering company, Siemens provides innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s major challenges across the key sectors of energy, industry, infrastructure & cities and healthcare. Siemens has offices and  factories throughout the UK, with its headquarters in Frimley, Surrey. The company’s global headquarters is in Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.siemens.co.uk.

* Data includes intercompany revenue. Data may not be comparable with revenue reported in annual or interim reports.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Corporate Responsibility

Developing solutions for social and environmental challenges is at the core of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s responsibility platform. In more than 100 markets around the world, we partner with employees, clients and stakeholders to help make financial lives better. The firm focuses on responsible business practices, environmental sustainability, advancing opportunity in local communities through education and employability programmes and investing in global leadership development. We realise the power of our people and value our differences, recognising that our diversity makes us a stronger firm and allows us to better service our stakeholders. By harnessing our intellectual resources, sharing knowledge and connecting capital with need, we are providing opportunities that effect positive change. Learn more at www.bankofamerica.com/about and follow us on Twitter at @BofA_Community.

The Garfield Weston Foundation

For over half a century the Foundation has been donating money to a wide range of charitable causes across the UK including education, community, welfare, youth, health, the arts and the environment. On average, approximately 1500 charities across the UK benefit each year from grants made by the Foundation and these include the smallest community and volunteer projects though to large national organisations. Grants are located from the smallest rural communities through to Britain’s major cities. Despite the diversity of organisations and projects the Foundation funds, the common theme is an approach to quality and excellence, with projects demonstrating clear outcomes and benefits, capable individuals and sensible plans. To find out more visit www.garfieldweston.org.

Defra

Defra is the government department responsible for policy and regulations on the environment, food and rural affairs. Defra runs the cross-government Adapting to Climate Change Programme, aimed at ensuring that the country is prepared for the challenges and opportunities posed by a changing climate. In May 2011, Defra updated its Climate Change Plan, along with all other government departments in order to assess progress on actions, and set out new priorities. The plan explains what Defra is doing across its policy areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address the risks and opportunities that climate change presents. More information on Defra’s work to adapt the UK to climate change can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/adaptation.

Founders Circle: Climate Changing programme

The Founders Circle is an exclusive Corporate Membership offer designed to allow organisations to focus their support of the Science Museum, and enjoy a range of benefits associated with the dynamic Climate Changing programme which continues to run at the Museum during 2014. Founders Circle members commit to supporting the Science Museum through an annual fee for a minimum of three years. Current Founders Circle members are Accenture, Barclays and Bayer. For more information please visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/corporatemembership.

Patrons of the Science Museum

Our Patrons are people who are united by the same aim – to make the Science Museum the best place in the world for people to enjoy science. Annual support from our Patrons enables us to develop cutting-edge exhibitions, innovative new galleries and to continue our inspirational and award-winning learning programmes. For more information please visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/supportus.