Lauren Chipeur 

Montreal, Canada
Residency: April – May 2014

Project Description
​My work publicizes itself is a perpetual confrontation with value. I like the notion that as an artist I have the opportunity to be directly involved in the distortion value. Not only the value of commodities but also the value of labour or work. My routines and rituals of production involve a process of accumulation, alteration and distribution.

When I arrived at Sculpture Space I began collecting/selecting garbage from the streets of Utica. I then duplicated this accumulation of objects in clay. My intention with this project was to reverse the logic of cleaning by doubling the amount of trash I began with. In a way I also see these objects as donations to me by the City of Utica.

During this process of collection I was also seeking out another specific group of materials/objects. I call this group the infrastructure of consumption. They are loosely defined as objects whose use or function is to aid in the process of consuming; things that have been specifically produced to play this kind of role. The materials range from cardboard boxes to small pieces of Styrofoam but also include things like food wrappers or egg cartons. They came together through a combination of coincidence and convenience.

I altered and played with these objects to create an installation, 'Well, we're part of that group too.”

I had the opportunity to work through some ideas or instincts I had been having about making material gestures. I began trusting these notions more instead of focusing so much on intention. Playing with the use of display or imitation to abstract and confront the real function of materials and things.

About the Artist
Lauren Chipeur (b. Alberta, Canada 1989) received a BA (Hons) – Sculpture from Edinburgh College of Art in 2012. Since graduating she spent time making work and exhibiting in Berlin. She is currently based in Montreal, Canada.

For more visit: www.laurenchipeur.com