WORK SHOP ABOUT SWAP EDITIONS OBJECT | MULTIPLE
> ROBOT BIN THINGS
An ongoing series of concrete multiples cast from discarded tech product packaging. The only rule it must look like a robot.
Lara Chapman talked to Robin as part of her text Technofossils : Fictitious Narratives for Disegno #33.
'One trace that we will leave behind in abundant quanitities is packaging. Robot Bin Things by Robin Tarbet, for instance, is a series of whimsical sculptures that resemble a little army of robots. Upon inspection, they reveal themselves to be concrete castings taken from the packaging of tech products – garbage that has been fossilised. Tarbet creates his fossils based on packaging that appeals to him and which, he believes, might look good when cast. This aesthetic pull of the fossil form, however, as well as the nature of the subject matter, pose a dilemma to all designers working in the field. “There is a constant awareness of using up resources and an acknowledgement of overconsumption,” explains Tarbet. “[But] in a very disposable era, I like the idea of making a work that, like a fossil, could outlast me due to my material choices alone. Found out of context, [a work like this] could potentially pose a question of how they came to exist, as an art anomaly with the characteristics but none of the intended functions of the consumer products it originates from.”
'One trace that we will leave behind in abundant quanitities is packaging. Robot Bin Things by Robin Tarbet, for instance, is a series of whimsical sculptures that resemble a little army of robots. Upon inspection, they reveal themselves to be concrete castings taken from the packaging of tech products – garbage that has been fossilised. Tarbet creates his fossils based on packaging that appeals to him and which, he believes, might look good when cast. This aesthetic pull of the fossil form, however, as well as the nature of the subject matter, pose a dilemma to all designers working in the field. “There is a constant awareness of using up resources and an acknowledgement of overconsumption,” explains Tarbet. “[But] in a very disposable era, I like the idea of making a work that, like a fossil, could outlast me due to my material choices alone. Found out of context, [a work like this] could potentially pose a question of how they came to exist, as an art anomaly with the characteristics but none of the intended functions of the consumer products it originates from.”
A small edition of Robot Bin Things are available from my studio.