The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff

The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff is part of our new season: Planet for our Future: How do we adapt to a Transforming World?

In this major international exhibition, visitors will meet artworks composed of salvaged materials, resynthesised fragments, and e-waste. They will encounter new environmental zones, where synthetic and organic matter interact, providing a fertile ground for the invention of mythical worlds, dystopias and speculative future narratives.

These hybrid living-art entities have life stories that begin with the histories of the objects from which they have been born, and which tie them intimately to the things that construct our own sense of reality and animate our immediate environments. Through these challenging, empathic, and creative encounters with the artworks, visitors are asked to reimagine their relationship to synthetic materials and commodities designed not-to-last, and consider who is responsible for consumption, over-production, and waste streams in modern society. Ultimately, these artworks demonstrate the ingenuity of human creativity to re-imagine our relationships with the planet and inspire people to positively engage with our shared future.

The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff is curated by Vanessa Tothill, Curator at the Sainsbury Centre and presents works by: Madi Acharya-Baskerville, El Anatsui, Mandy Barker, Karla Black, Ayan Farah, Daiga Grantina, Romuald Hazoume, Diana Lelonek, Ibrahim Mahama, Mary Mattingly, Fabrice Monteiro, Marlie Mul, Samara Scott, Tejal Shah, Elias Sime, Michael E. Smith, Sarah Sze, Gavin Turk and Maarten Vanden Eynde.

Our new Universal Ticket allows access to our entire gallery. This ticket operates on a 'Pay If and What You Can' basis. Daily guided tours are available at 11.30am.