100% Recycled

Monika Lidman I've been exploring an aspect of art production that makes sense to me - a place where my art, thoughts, values and current affairs can link up. Though I've worked extensively with found objects in the past, I felt my larger environmental concerns needed to dovetail more closely with my own choices in materials and production.

Working in a 100% recycled way produced three noteworthy shifts. First, the muse works harder, as more ideas spring from available materials. In some curious way, it's like creating a great dinner out of what is available in a minimally stocked refrigerator.

I also noticed that practicing “studio conservation” slowed me down. While I scavenged for some element or material, a work in progress had more time to “rest.” In the process, it became more thoughtful and considered art.

The third shift has been the best. Though I am not a purist, I have found the sweetest satisfaction in using recycled, discarded and second-hand materials – a creator's satisfaction that can otherwise elude me. It feels tremendous to make something interesting “out of nothing.”

So what's this work about? Life, body concept, health and infirmity, biological and genetic concerns, stereotypes, animal extinction, global warming, admired social reformers, memory, dreams and, last but not least, hope!

-Monika Lidman