EVERYTHING MUST GO is a 3-day exhibition with workshops and talks that tells the hidden story of our unwanted clothes.
The exhibition will be open to the public on Friday 20 – Sunday 22 January from 11am – 6pm
Bargehouse
Oxo Tower Wharf
Bargehouse Street
South Bank
London SE1 9PH
Contact for press and further information: Joby Williams (williamsjoby@gmail.com)
SUMMARY
‘A long chain of charity and commerce binds the world’s richest and
poorest people in an accidental intimacy. It’s a curious feature of the
global age that hardly anybody at either end knows it.’
George Packer, New York Times magazine, March 2002
Western consumers want to believe that they can have a new coat every
winter and do a good deed by donating clothes to needy recipients in
the developing world through the simple discourse of charity recycling.
The reality is, of course, more complex and more murky than many would
suspect.
Dr Lucy Norris (UCL Anthropologist) has spent the last five years
researching textile recycling as part of Waste of the World, an academic
research project investigating global flows of waste
including textiles, food, ships and nuclear energy.
For the end-of-project event, Waste of the World has collaborated
with a group of artists and designers to present a public exhibition
that tells the textile story. The exhibition is co-curated by Dr Lucy
Norris and artist Clare Patey, and produced by arts organisation Holy
Mountain.
Visitors are invited to bring an unwanted item of clothing and to
follow its journey as it is sold for reuse and recycling across the
world. Invisible global waste economies are brought into public view, as
do the people involved and the impact that these businesses have upon
their lives.
Says Dr Lucy Norris, “The research challenges our comfortable notion
that our waste can be contained, cleaned and endlessly recycled and
reclaims waste as a filthy, powerful and potentially dangerous material
flow that has to be reckoned with.”
Accompanying the exhibition is a programme of talks ‘TALKING RUBBISH’
where researchers, designers, filmmakers, business entrepreneurs and
third sector leaders engage with the issues raised and their
implications for the way in which we think about our old clothing as
well as wider issues around waste and recycling.
In her research in Panipat, India, Dr Norris has found poor labour
conditions, low wages, and extremely low- quality products. Often made
from potentially reusable Western clothing, its value has been destroyed
through shredding because markets cannot be found for the amount of
used clothing now in circulation.
The show contextualises this research with collaborative projects
including Meghna Gupta’s debut film Unravel and photographs by Tim
Mitchell, both focussing on the shoddy industry in Panipat, north
India. Lizzie Harrison of Remade in Leeds will host workshops on
upcycling old clothing and rug-making from scraps, and a piece of
textile designer Kate Goldsworthy’s resurfaced shoddy textile will be on
display. The show also highlights Oxfam’s innovative ‘Frip Ethique’
social enterprise in Senegal, which sorts unsold clothing from the
charity’s UK shops for sale in the local market, creating livelihoods
and raising vital funds for its work in West Africa.”
Everything Must Go marks a return to Bargehouse for Clare Patey,
formerly artistic director of The Museum Of, a highly innovative and
collaborative museum project that took place in the same building from
1998 to 2001.
The new store will showcase the brand's latest image which brings
together opposing styles – including industrial and romantic – in an
open, modernist space. Light is one of the most important aspects
throughout the store and on the façade – bright, tall windows of over
seven meters in height invite the attention of passers-by. The space
dedicated exclusively to accessories has been especially highlighted. A
unique component designed specifically for the Shinsaibashi store is the
striking central staircase leading to the upper floor. Architectural
leadership has been used to create this key feature which is made of
Yugoslavian white marble with iron balusters and wood railings.
To celebrate the opening of this flagship, Stradivarius invited
fashionable young women to preview the new bright space. The soundtrack
to the night was provided by DJ HICO and DJ Fanky Kow and guests were
given a first glimpse of Stradivarius' new in store magazine The Event
Paper.
About Stradivarius and Inditex
Stradivarius is the global young women's fashion brand of Inditex Group.
Stradivarius's fashions suit a lifestyle full of trends and creativity.
Its stores are feminine and magical and create a unique shopping
experience. Stradivarius's garments and accessories are designed in
Spain and are distributed exclusively in its stores worldwide.
Stradivarius is present in 60 countries, and with the addition of the
Osaka flagship there are now 900 stores worldwide.
Stradivarius
is owned by the Inditex Group, one of the largest fashion retailers in
the world. In addition to Stradivarius, Inditex has 7 other brands:
Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Zara Home and
Uterqüe. Inditex has more than 6,600 stores worldwide in over 88
markets.