In his latest exhibition titled ‘Trashed’, ceramicist Shaun Hayes humorously uses waste to build vessels of Western cultural heritage: the plastic bottle, takeaway container, coffee cup lid, toothbrush, cue tip; small thoughtless conveniences of our comfortable lives, thrown away – trashed. Placed on pedestals, Hayes explores the material conversations of waste concerning sustainability and disposability, understanding the malleability of plastic through the plasticity of clay. Detached from the impact we have on the environment Hayes reconnects us with these decorative objects.
Through methods of repetition, rearranging and joining of cast objects paired with a tonal colour palette, Hayes’s sculptures are reminiscent of fantastical and comical imagery whilst also highlighting the tensions of growing up in conversation with existing in a wasteful, thoughtless consumerist society.
Shaun Hayes, Canned, 2021, glazed midfire ceramic, 47 x 22 x 22cm. Photograph: Bryna Bamberry. Courtesy the artist and Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney
Stanley Street Gallery| Online
23 September to 16 October 2021
Sydney
