Song Dong: Waste Not

Overview

Ever walked into the house of a real-life hoarder? As trends in fashion and interior design lean more towards the minimal, those of us who refuse to declutter our lives seem only more fascinating. Hence the appeal of A&E’s Hoarders, and also the immediate visual impact of Song Dong’s latest art installation.

A transformative representation of his mother’s mourning process following the death of his father, Song Dong’s Waste Not features gathers over 10,000 everyday objects she gathered over a period of five decades. In fact it consists of the entire contents of her house. There are balls of twine, empty toothpaste tubes, stuffed animals and literally hundreds of kitchen utensils, all carefully stacked and laid out. First it’s a visual smack in the face, then it’s a ruminative journey of hardship, grief and personal resilience. Just as fashionably minimalist interiors are often telling of how much we actually have, hoarding can also be about profound loss.