Xpace Cultural Centre is accepting expressions of interest from emerging artists for a group exhibition exploring the affective registers of consumer waste curated by Bunker 2. The exhibition will run from January 11th – February 27th, 2022.

What happens when things meant to be disposable are retained beyond their intended lifespan and transformed beyond their designed functions? Bubble wrap, plastic bags, rubber gloves—termed ‘single-use items’ within plastic capitalism—can become meaningful objects through their accumulation and reuse. Similarly, global scales of production and consumption are mirrored digitally, as copious amounts of data are created, uploaded, catalogued, mined, monetized, and discarded. What is the residual affect of this accumulation?

Through their entanglements with the body and home, mass-scale industrial and networked products become personal. The items and apps we use shape us, and vice versa. The layers of packaging used to protect coveted products from dirt and damage are, however, swiftly discarded; the temporary files and drafts are deleted. How can examining typically invisibilized waste reveal the perverse index of our material desires, and confront the aesthetic realities of late capitalist consumption? In what ways can artists interrupt cycles of hyper-disposability to consider waste as a source of bodily, domestic, industrial, and networked potential?

Keywords: Vessels, containment, disposability, hygiene, industry, material agency, waste, preservation, capitalist accumulation, plastic, global supply, digital image

This exhibition will prioritize artists that are Indigenous, Black, people of color, women, 2SLGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and members of other marginalized communities.

We welcome submissions of existing works and new works planned to be completed by late December.

DEADLINE: December 4, 2021 (11:59 PM EST)

Please submit materials through the following google form

Submission Suggestions:
Artist Statement
Project Description
Technical Requirements
Up to 5 images of proposed work, or a link to video/ digital project

We recognize the unpaid labour associated with putting together submissions, and that they are resultantly, often inaccessible. This is a casual call that does not have strict requirements, but please keep in mind that you’re introducing yourself and your project to an uninitiated audience!

If you have any questions, or require any support, please do not hesitate to contact us at bunker2projects.com or Xpace Programming Coordinator Philip Leonard Ocampo at philip@xpace.info.