July 28, 2022

polar opposites

Multimedia artist and ecological activist Aurora Robson makes a compelling case for the environment in these ambitious sculptures and installations. In what she has dubbed an “intervention of the waste stream”, the Toronto native transforms discarded items into surreal and abstract pieces with a decidedly organic feel to them. Bottles, cables and colored polyacrylics are masterfully morphed into flora and fauna with aquatic and sometimes microscopic aesthetics. The transmutation of inert material into a seemingly living framework is a powerful one that resonates with her “waste not, want not” philosophy that espouses the implementation of circular systems of consumption.

In an interview with Mistake House, Aurora elaborates on the driving force behind her work:

“Art and garbage are polar opposites, yet they are the two things we leave behind on earth. Once transformed into art, debris becomes the antithesis of itself. That doesn’t commonly happen with material. Most people agree that the greatest value is not in things, but rather in love or related actions. When we cast aside our biases (in terms of material in particular), we see debris for what it really is, displaced abundance.”