Exhibition hours: September 5th, 11 AM – 4 PM
Exhibition open by appointment: September 7 – 11
Closing reception: September 12th, 12 – 4 PM, artist talk at 12:30 PM
Location: Mutuus Studio 6118 12th Ave South, Seattle, WA 98108
Reception is free and open to the public, all ages welcome.
To visit on weekdays, make an appointment by contacting mphillips@recology.com
About the exhibits:
After four months working with materials culled from the waste stream at the Recology King County Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), artists Janelle Abbott and Eirik Johnson present the culminating exhibitions of their residencies: Containers and Tensile Strength. Though their practices diverge dramatically in medium and approach, both bodies of work emerge from a shared attentiveness to the histories objects carry with them into the post-consumer afterlife.
Containers marks a departure from Abbott’s longstanding practice of creating zero-waste wearable garments, turning instead toward maximalist sculptural works that meditate on manual labor, repetition, and the accumulation of objects over time. Drawing from discarded toys, greeting cards, bottle caps, and countless fragments of commercial plastic too small to be captured by conventional recycling systems, Abbott considers the intersection of the physical body and the material world through the everyday objects designed to entertain and sustain us. Her densely layered sculptures transform familiar refuse into evocative monuments imbued with the candy-color and cuteness of toys, yet take the shape of protective garments and sarcophagi.
While rooted in photography, Johnson’s Tensile Strength expands into large-scale sculptural installations that embrace the patina left by wear, chemical exposure, time, and the natural environment. Lumen prints capture the macro detail of crushed glass exposed to the sun. A fennel forest takes root in a monumental cardboard bale-turned-plinth. Field recordings captured throughout the MRF and its surrounding landscape are transformed into immersive sonic compositions that reveal the melodic, percussive, and rhythmic heartbeat of otherwise impenetrable industrial sites.
Janelle Abbott is an artist and designer behind the sustainable fashion label JRAT, known for its transformative use of reclaimed and found materials to create unique, zero-waste garments and art. Densely pleated, boldly clashing, and unexpectedly rhythmic, Janelle’s work is scrappy, unapologetic, and a testament to just how much time and energy it takes for real humans to produce every consumer product we engage with.
janelleabbott.com @janellerabbott
Eirik Johnson is a photographic artist whose conceptually-grounded work examines the intersections of contemporary environmental, social, and cultural issues in America and beyond. Through presentation formats that range from photobooks to experiential photo and sound-based installation, Johnson’s photographic projects explore the marks and connections formed in the friction of this complicated relationship.
eirikjohnson.com @orcawatch
Artist in Residence Program
The Recology King County AIR Program is a four-month art and educational residency that provides King County artists administrative support, a stipend, and access to discarded materials from the waste stream to create artwork.
During the four-month residency, artists scavenge at the Recology Material Recovery Facility, the North Seattle Transfer Station, and the Recology Stores for materials to make their art. The exhibition of completed work will be held at Mutuus Studio in Georgetown, September 4th – 11th.
Read more about the Recology AIR program here. For more information, contact Maria Phillips or Amanda Manitach.