Arianna Richardson, Experience the Magic, 2019, PVC, styrofoam, plastic mesh, mylar, tinsel, chip bags, polyester
Photo by Manpreet Singh
experience the magic
In my work, I aim to understand the many implications of the late-capitalist, hyper-consumptive society that we are embedded in. My practice and research revolve around the intersections between environmentalism, waste, consumption, excessive decoration, and spectacle.
My sculptures and installations mimic or modify everyday objects such as garbage cans, advertising signage, and absurdist consumer products. My artworks are usually functional objects made from discarded plastic waste, thrift store craft supplies, and light-industrial materials. I use hobby-craft techniques such as cross-stitching, knitting, embroidery, and sewing, introducing intensively laborious, hand-crafted production to everyday objects that are typically mass-produced with great speed and efficiency. Aesthetically, my work pushes the boundaries of kitsch and maximalist over-decoration.
My sparkly, seemingly superficial aesthetic invites the viewer into a difficult conversation, disarming their typical responses to a subject that makes us feel powerless and frustrated, making space for a consideration of our collective complicity in a system of destruction and oppression and ways that we might try to intervene and stimulate change.
Arianna richardson
Arianna Richardson is a sculptor, performance artist, sewist, and mother from Lethbridge, AB on Treaty 7 territory. She is a lifelong crafter and thrift-store enthusiast, constantly collecting plastic-based trash and discarded craft materials. Richardson often performs under the pseudonym The Hobbyist, employing hobby-craft techniques to work through an investigation of ubiquitous consumption, gendered labour, waste, excess, and spectacle.
Richardson holds a BFA (2013) in Studio Arts from the University of Lethbridge and an MFA (2018) from NSCAD in Halifax, NS. She was awarded the Roloff Beny Photography Scholarship in 2012 and the Alberta Arts Graduate Scholarship in 2016. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and has been featured in several performance art publications including the December 2018 issue of Performance Research, Emergency Index: An Annual Document of Performance Practice, Volumes 8 & 9, and the online publication of Watch Your Head.
INSTAGRAM: @hobbyistbrand
FACEBOOK: @hobbyistbrand
WEBSITE: ariannarichardson.ca