Show me what you have, and I’ll tell you who you are: Collecting mania and recycling become art

Square meters of empty toothpaste tubes and bottles of cleaning solution, pencils, balls of wool, or shoes—all of it in neat rows: Waste not, the spectacular installation by Song Dong (*1966) comprising more than ten thousand individual items, traveled around the whole world, inspiriting countless exhibition visitors. The artist’s mother fell into poverty during the Cultural Revolution and compulsively collected everyday objects. The installation arranges everything she accumulated, cataloguing and documenting her life.This is the first volume to provide insight into all of the series of works by the Conceptual artist in which he deals with issues such as consumption, sustainability, memory, or spirituality. Song Dong arranges old doors and windows from demolished buildings to create new living spaces. In Doing Nothing Garden at documenta 12, he transformed a mountain of garbage into an attractive recreation area, or he recreates modern cityscapes out of candy: Eating the City —unhealthy, but yummy. Taking a bite is allowed! Exhibitions: Groninger Museum, Netherlands, 13.6. – 1.11.2015 | Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, 5.12.2015 – 6.3.2016