Recycling Urban Truths

Artist Ann Wizer makes her creations from items recovered from Asian garbage dumps.

12/9/2010

If Art Basel confirmed your cynical view that most art is just steaming piles of -- er, junk, then indulge yourself with the works of an artist who uses real steaming junk piles as her media. Ann Wizer employs garbage dump scavengers across Asia to collect single-use, non-biodegradable plastic packaging that languishes in the world's dumps, which she then converts into works of art.

Fort Lauderdale's Upper Room Gallery will host an opening reception for Wizer's work this Saturday. Her art shows how overdevelopement, urbanization and waste have caused the erosion of natural habitat, loss of traditional architecture and poor health to locals. Her show was previously exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manila.

Her pieces include "The Garbage Chair," a one-of-a-kind piece of functional art made entirely of hand-cut plastic packaging. Her work "Chickenjoy!" is a series of bas-relief chickens all made from used egg cartons. She also creates the framing for all of her paintings, photographs and mixed-media pieces using recovered urban waste.

The artist is currently working in Asia and won't be attending the show.

Opening reception, Saturday, Dec 11 from 7-10 p.m. Upper Room Gallery, 1200 E. Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale; 954-828-1505.