2001-2002

I worked in the marketing department of Designtex, a textile company that developed the first 100% biodegradable commercial upholstery. Struck by the artfulness of the company’s project, I decided to reframe it for presentation in an art context. A compost bin/display unit showed the fabric at every stage of its lifecycle, from wool to yarn to woven goods to edge trimmings to felt. Inside the compost compartment, redworms turned the fabric back into soil. Information sheets that told the Climatex Lifecycle story were made available to viewers, along with my business cards. The piece moved fluidly back and forth between the realm of the corporate and the realm of the art world. The information sheets that I designed for the project became marketing materials for the company. When it was not being exhibited, it lived in the company showroom.

Compost bin and bench design and fabrication: Jeffrey Hall
Composting consultants: Lower East Side Ecology Center
Photo credits: Bob Braine, Jeffrey Hall, Ned Matura
Upholstering: Carol Pelletier