A Chilliwack artist is hoping her art installation will stir up conversations about the vast amounts of trash that people are dumping in landfills.
‘Day After Day After Day After Day’ by conceptual artist Krista Kilvert is an installation that opened at the Chilliwack Museum on Feb. 24 and is on display until June 24.
It’s made up of several translucent fabric panels featuring different pictures of the Bailey Landfill that she’s taken over the years. The 12 lightweight organza panels are hung parallel to each other and move with the ambient air in the room.
“I wanted to creatively replicate the feeling that on any given day, one can find a billowing and constantly changing mass of garbage, appliances, household, commercial and construction waste,” Kilvert said. “The installation serves as a platform from which to contemplate community and personal consumption taking place in our own backyard.”
The idea behind the installation is a commentary about the “problems of stuff” including having too much of it, where a lot of it eventually ends up, and how that in turn plays a role in climate change, she added.
The project stemmed from her own love of collecting things.
“What I can’t recycle, re-invent, resell, give away or donate ends up having to go somewhere, and that invariably leads me to the dump, which stimulated the way I presented the concept of overconsumption.”
The installation allows folks to reflect on the impacts of overconsumption and the role we play in taking care of our planet, said Kate Feltren, curator of Chilliwack Museum.
“We currently live in a world of rapid consumption, which comes at a great cost to our environment. The waste we dispose of each day is often forgotten once it is removed from our spaces, but is not necessarily gone,” Feltren said.
According to a 2019 study, Canadians produce more garbage per capita than any other country, generating approximately 1.33 billion metric tonnes of garbage a year, Kilvert pointed out.
She came to realize recently that with more people shopping online throughout the pandemic, the amount of items being tossed in the landfill has increased.
“Little did I realize that when I returned an Amazon purchase, I was contributing to the shockingly five billion pounds of Amazon returns that end up in global landfills every single year, simply because it’s not cost-effective for Amazon to resell these goods.”
Kilvert said she’s now striving to make more conscious and knowledgeable purchasing decisions based on sustainability and is hoping ‘Day After Day After Day After Day’ will make others do the same.
“Krista’s work serves as a dizzying reminder that our every action has a lasting impact, and we have the ability to make and influence positive change,” Feltren said.
‘Day After Day After Day After Day’ by Krista Kilvert is on display at the Chilliwack Museum at 45820 Spadina Ave. until June 24. Museum hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more, go to kristakilvert.com.
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