The Detritus of Human Existence by Yang Lim

As part of their artistic practice, multimedia artist Breanna Barrington aims to work sustainably and often incorporates second-hand materials into her works, through which they explore ecological concerns and hopes to encourage people to take meaningful action. Featured on Churchill Square as part of this year’s The Works Arts & Design Festival, Barrington’s work Nature First Aid (2022) asked us to reconsider our society’s impact on the environment, similar to Agatha Chacinski’s work A Grasp for Love (2022) that also appeared this festival. Whereas Chacinski’s installation foregrounds real and artificial manifestations of nature as a locus for people to reconceptualize their relationship to it, Barrington’s work emphasized the proliferation of human-made goods to highlight human society’s adverse impact and encroachment upon the natural environment. 

Barrington’s work consisted of a stove and what appeared to be the remains of a fridge, within which she housed a wide variety of objects collected from various sources such as thrift stores, alleys, and the Reuse Center. The work raised questions about human impacts on the natural environment by asking us to contemplate the value that we put on material goods, as well as the significant volume of goods that we produce, consume, and throw away. According to recent statistics, Canada's estimated total waste generation is the largest in the world, with an estimated annual waste total of over 1.3 billion metric tons.  

In viewing the installation, it was worthwhile to spend some time looking at the various items that were displayed within it. The sheer volume and variety of items displayed in this installation created a cumulative effect that enhanced its impact upon viewers. People would see things such as a plastic fork, crushed pop can, chewing gum wrapper, and cap from a plastic container, all of which are reminders of the amount of waste that our communities produce. There were also familiar objects such as an umbrella, sunglasses, and fishing net, as well as vintage items such as an old photograph, a peace medallion, and various ornaments. Some items reminiscent of childhood appeared in the installation as well, including building blocks, stickers, and jigsaw pieces. Scattered among these numerous objects were some dry dirt and human-made items evocative of nature such as a paper butterfly, flower patterned wrapping paper, and artificial tree leaves.   

Taken as a whole, it was almost as if the installation’s volume of stuff overpowered and suppressed any vestiges of nature that emerged within it, even as most of those were human-made. Its location on the grey concrete of Churchill Square heightened its impact. At the same time, the installation itself embodies the importance and value of reusing and repurposing objects, since these can extend these objects’ longevity and also endow them with new meanings and significance. With its numerous vintage objects, some of which depicted images of nature, the work may also prompt some people to consider the relationship that human society has had with nature in the past and whether it has been better in comparison to today. However, Barrington’s work is not intended to be a harkening back to a naturalistic utopia of the past, but rather a call to action in the present that asks us to consider our individual and collective impact upon nature and what we can do locally to address it.