Parveen Dhatt

I create artwork from post consumer ‘waste’, remnants of everyday life; newspapers, food packaging, fast food wrappings, dried shrimp shells, denim, utility bill envelopes, flyers, Amazon boxes, beads, duct tape from older work and discarded fabric. These humble materials are rescued from an inevitable life decaying in landfills. They are partially stripped of their identity and along with detritus collected from the studio floor are layered and glued onto panel. Together they construct a unique narrative and become objects of aesthetic value. This work illustrates the material possibilities of what most would consider trash while also maximizing the aesthetic potential of what would otherwise be considered waste objects.

I grew up as an immigrant child in Brampton during the “70’s and 80’s, we were one of an handful of ‘brown’ people amongst a relatively homogenous Caucasian community. The embarrassment of going out with my dad to rummage through other people's ‘trash’ was exacerbated by the turban my dad wore. We stuck out like a yellow umbrella on a grey rainy day. The seventies and eighties were the pre-consumer and pre-earth friendly eras, before it was considered cool to rifle through bins, we were an anamoly. We were never poor but my dad was a DIYer way before HGTV made it popular, he had a creative mind and most importantly saw gold in other people’s waste.

Fast forward to the present, every alternating Wednesday is my favourite day of the week, it's recycle day, when I can look for treasures casually thrown out by neighbours into the blue bins. Over the years, I have allowed my ego to humble and contain itself as I carry these treasures back to the garage. Each object has an energy, an interesting story to tell whether it’s conveyed by the texture, shape, functionality or colour. It’s exciting to weave these pieces into a collage, one that people rarely think of but are so delighted to see.

These collages also serve to document and they act as fossils that mine pop culture and act as irreverent critiques of mass consumption. The purpose is contradictory and a paradox, to evoke an emotional response from the viewer, while critiquing fast fashion. My purpose is for people to make empowering connections with the work when they recognize objects of daily use reflected back to them.

As a multi disciplinary artist my practice also includes large abstract encaustic paintings and photography. The most important themes conveyed through these mediums are of time, history, culture, identity, hybridity, race, migration and dislocation. There is a clear attempt to remap our understanding of east/west throughout all of my work.

I hope you enjoy my gallery as much as I have loved creating these works! They really have to be seen in person to appreciate the texture and brilliant colours. Safe and socially distanced studio visits are welcome and alternatively artwork can be viewed through Zoom.

It’s worth the drive to Brampton!