dematerialization /de-muh-teer-ree-uhl-ize-shuhn/ n. 1. materials that mysteriously appear in shops, are used briefly, then seemingly disappear without a trace. 2. materials that do not matter [Latin: related to: de DOES NOT, materia MATTER]

The idea behind this installation was to juxtapose materials we value, with materials we give little value to. I have often pondered the travesty of the amount of clothing that goes to landfill each week even in a small city, like Hobart. Having worked for the Resource Tip Shop at South Hobart for several years I have witnessed this waste first hand. So having had the idea for some years, I knew I had a tremendous opportunity when invited onto the ONO project at the derelict baths building on the corner of Collins and Molle Streets, Hobart.

Although few people could care less about the amount of unwanted clothing that is dumped in landfill, many were filled with anger and disgust at the idea of the old Tepid Baths being demolished. Visiting the site I found the upstairs apartment had been stripped of all its plaster walls and ceilings, leaving only the exposed frameworks and floorboards. I decided that I would re-line one of the rooms with clothing salvaged from the tip. The clothing was stapled in place replacing the walls, ceiling and floor coverings, leaving only an empty doorway to enter the room.

Clothing is something that many of us buy on a whim, and don’t give a second thought to throw away, even if we never wore it. Charity shop donation bins are overflowing with unwanted clothes, most of which are perfectly wearable. So much so that the charity shops regularly dump clothes at landfills, some of which is unopened, unsorted bags of donations. The simple fact is, there is way more clothing being discarded than there are people buying it. Even if it was all given away, there would still be a glut. The new market simply outweighs the second-hand market. To highlight this discrepancy I recently initiated another Dematerialization installation at the Taste of Tasmania Installed Art Container Project.

A considerable amount of clothing now is made from cotton, which uses an incredible amount of water to produce. An average T-shirt uses up about 4000 litres of water! Yet many of us wouldn’t think twice about throwing away a T-shirt. Not only is it a waste of resources, cotton buried in landfill will emit green house gases while it decomposes. Same goes for leather, linen, denim, hemp, or any other material used to make clothing that is derived from a living plant or animal.

The bricks, timber, glass and tile, that makes up a building is far more likely to be reused after a building is demolished; though an incredible amount still goes to landfill. Building materials are perceived to be more valuable than clothing, though this may not actually be the case. It is more a matter of what we assign value to. Ironically, the same people who may well chain themselves to demolition machinery to prevent a building being toppled, may over their lifetime throw away tonnes of usable clothing.