Kalliopi Monoyios

Collect with me

I'm looking for a few meticulous, dedicated people to help me collect items over a prescribed period of time that I can then turn into impressive time-based artwork about our consumption patterns. Specific items I'm looking for are below, but I'm open to ideas if you have access to an existing treasure trove of ---. I'm open to collaboration with individuals or groups. 

Why?

I'm fascinated with capturing individuals' consumption over time. What does a year's worth of plastic look like?  I answered that (at least anecdotally) in Year of Plastic, Family of Four, but I want a broader picture. What about a lifetime's worth of shoes? Unless you live in a place that regularly incinerates trash, chances are, every single pair of shoes you've ever worn are still on this planet somewhere. Toothbrushes? Ok, yuck, but you get the point. I want to capture long-term consumption and turn it into art so we can better see ourselves.

What I'm looking for:

Spent Gift Cards

The convenience of plastic gift cards is undeniable and they are ubiquitous. Restaurants, retail, coffee shops all offer them, hotels use them as keycards, institutions use them as membership cards etc. I'm collecting spent gift cards to use in plastic sculptures. If you'd like to conduct a recycling drive by installing a collection box at your school or work, even better. Let's talk!

Kid Shoes

Update: Donated, thank you! From first steps to the teenage years, I'm interested in capturing childhood through the lens of used shoes. I would need an individual to commit to sending me every pair of worn out and outgrown shoes from their kiddo for 3-5 years. Open to any ages under 18 but it's important that I receive all shoes from a given time period, not just a pair here or there.

Deflated Mylar Balloons

These sweet gifts that mark various milestones and put smiles on kids' faces are ripe for poignant art. If you find yourself with deflated balloons from a special occasion, fold them up and pop them in the mail to me. I'm especially interested in balloons with messages like "congrats, graduate!", "Get well soon", or "it's a boy!" etc. 

Another Year of Plastic

Knowing that different people have different habits, I'd like to continue this series of quilts that reflect a year of foldable single-use plastic in an individual's or family's life. If you're interested, you must be a meticulously clean and hyper-organized person. I can only accept clean plastic with absolutely NO food or oily residue, and I want every piece of plastic that would otherwise be thrown out.  

Interested? Let's talk:

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